The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
The High Court has rejected an application seeking to halt the proposed Dangote refinery project in Lamu, allowing the planned groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday to go ahead despite an ongoing land dispute involving at least 133 residents of Chandavai.
The ruling permits the project to continue while leaving the parties’ legal rights in the land dispute intact.
The residents had filed a case seeking to stop what they describe as the unlawful acquisition and destruction of land that they say their families have occupied, farmed and used for generations.
The suit names the Office of the President, the Cabinet Secretary for Defence, the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, the Attorney General, the National Land Commission (NLC), the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority and the Lamu County Government.
Dangote Industries and two companies described as contractors were also listed as defendants.
According to court documents, the residents say they have occupied, cultivated and developed specific sections of land forming part of LR No. 13061 in Chandavai.
They maintain that their families have relied on the land for farming and livestock keeping for generations and have established homes, mosques, shrines and other community facilities there.
Some residents further claim that members of their families are buried on the disputed property.
The plaintiffs had asked the court to stop construction and excavation activities, arguing that the ongoing works risked causing additional damage to crops, trees, homes and other property.
They also argued that certain features of the land, including ancestral homes, graves and long-established community structures, could not be adequately replaced or compensated financially.
With the court declining to stop the project, the planned Wednesday groundbreaking can proceed while the broader land dispute continues through the legal process.
The residents’ allegations and claims have not yet been conclusively determined by the court.
