The planned Dangote refinery in Lamu should not move forward without clear answers on land rights, compensation, public participation and how host communities will benefit from the investment, Wiper Patriotic Front spokesperson Ndegwa Njiru has said.
Njiru said residents affected by the refinery and the wider Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor projects must be involved in decisions concerning their land and livelihoods, arguing that communities hosting major investments should also have a share in the benefits.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Wednesday, the advocate said LAPSSET was conceived during the Grand Coalition government as a major transport project intended to open up northern Kenya and improve connections with other parts of East Africa.
He said the scale of the planned investments made it important to resolve concerns raised by residents before implementation progresses.
“The persons who are intended to benefit from this project must also appreciate it and own it. That's why the question of the land issue must also be sorted out,” he said.
Njiru called for a clear agreement on how the host community would benefit from the refinery, while also seeking details on compensation for residents who could lose land because of the project.
“There will be population pressure; they are going to lose their land. How will you compensate for those particular occurrences?” he asked.
He also questioned whether a full feasibility study had been carried out to establish the likely social, economic and environmental effects of the refinery.
“Where is the feasibility study that shows both social and economic impact, even on the environment regarding this factory?” Njiru said.
According to him, such a study should also be subjected to public participation, which he linked to the constitutional requirement under Article 10.
“Where was the feasibility study done? Where is it?” he asked.
Njiru said raising the questions should not be interpreted as opposition to the refinery, but as a demand for the project to follow the law and protect the interests of affected residents.
“We must ask these questions, and we are not asking these questions because we actually oppose the project. No, it's because these projects must be governed by the rule of law,” he said.
His remarks come as Lamu residents pursue both protests and a court case over land earmarked for the refinery, with the project scheduled for groundbreaking on September 30.
More than 130 residents have moved to the Environment and Land Court in Malindi, saying they have lived on and cultivated parts of the disputed land for generations and should have their interests considered in the acquisition and compensation process.
The court ordered the status quo on the disputed parcel to be maintained until a hearing scheduled for October 14, but did not stop the planned groundbreaking.
The land dispute has emerged as the government and Dangote Group prepare to formally launch the refinery project.
Speaking in Kwale and Kilifi counties on Tuesday, President William Ruto defended the investment and warned against efforts to frustrate foreign investors. He said the government would not allow “conmen and profiteers” to interfere with genuine investments.
“You will not succeed to con us or lie to us this time round,” the President said.
Ruto has also said the government will take a stake in the refinery and that ordinary Kenyans will have an opportunity to acquire shares through the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
“Investment ya refinery is an open, transparent investment. The government will have a stake at the refinery. Kenyans will too have an opportunity to buy shares in a very open and transparent manner at the Nairobi Securities Exchange,” Ruto said.
Dangote Group founder Aliko Dangote has maintained that the groundbreaking will go ahead despite the court dispute, although the ruling could affect some activities at the project site.