Political analyst Kipkalya Kones has criticised billionaire Aliko Dangote’s response to legal challenges facing his proposed Sh2 trillion oil refinery in Lamu, warning that the investor should take community concerns and Kenyan court processes seriously.
Kones said Dangote’s comments about the lawsuits were concerning, particularly because the refinery is expected to operate in Kenya for decades and will therefore have to navigate changing governments, parliaments and communities.
“Aliko Dangote is a global tycoon, with investments in many countries. He also comes from Nigeria, so he is familiar with the struggles of the Ogoni people,” Kones said.
His comments followed Dangote’s remarks after a Kenyan court issued orders concerning land earmarked for the refinery. Dangote said his company was prepared to confront legal challenges, adding that anyone seeking to stop the project could proceed to court.
The Malindi Environment and Land Court ordered parties to maintain the status quo over disputed land in the Hindi/Manda Magogoni area of Lamu County. The case was filed by 133 residents who have raised concerns over land ownership and compensation.
The court dispute has not stopped the refinery’s groundbreaking. Dangote proceeded with the September 30 ceremony alongside President William Ruto, despite the ongoing legal challenge.
The proposed facility is expected to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is estimated at about $16 billion.
Kones drew parallels between the Lamu dispute and the historical struggle of Nigeria’s Ogoni people, who opposed environmental degradation and campaigned for greater protection of community rights in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
He specifically referred to the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, an Ogoni environmental and human rights activist who was executed alongside eight other Ogoni leaders in 1995 under the military government of General Sani Abacha.
The United Nations General Assembly later condemned the executions as arbitrary and said they followed a flawed judicial process.
“In Kenya, Lamu people are asking questions similar to those the Ogoni did in Nigeria,” Kones said, arguing that Dangote should openly address concerns raised by communities affected by the project.
He also criticised what he viewed as a confrontational response to the Kenyan court proceedings.
“For an international businessman to dismiss Kenyan court processes and promise to meet litigants head-on is rather shocking,” Kones said.
He warned that major investments must account for Kenya’s political and institutional changes because governments and parliaments change through elections.
“When he speaks the way he did about Kenyan court orders, he sounds exactly like Sani Abacha,” Kones said, adding that he hoped Dangote would not “create a Kenyan Saro Wiwa.”