A Kenyan presidential aspirant, Patrick Osoi, has threatened to halt the Dangote Refinery project in Kenya and send Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote back to Nigeria if he becomes president in the 2027 election.
Osoi, a former Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) soldier, made the remark while addressing supporters of his political movement, where he outlined his position on Kenya’s proposed refinery and the role of domestic businesses in the country’s oil sector .
“I want to tell Aliko Dangote, please don’t rush to start the refinery because when I’m sworn in as President of Kenya next year, you will be heading back to Nigeria,” Osoi said in a video posted online by A.M Media.
“We Kenyans have businesspeople who can start the refinery. We also have businesspeople in this country who can do that job. That is what we stand for,” he added.
Osoi argued that Kenyan businesspeople should be given the opportunity to establish and operate the country’s proposed oil refinery, insisting that local investors have the capacity and resources to execute the project without relying on the Nigerian industrialist.
However, he did not provide details of how his proposed administration would finance or develop a refinery using Kenyan investors .
The proposed East African refinery, estimated to cost about $16 billion, is expected to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
Dangote and Kenyan President William Ruto performed its groundbreaking ceremony in Lamu on September 30, 2026, with construction expected to take approximately 40 months.
Project Faces Mounting Legal and Community Challenges
The refinery has faced opposition from residents, civil society organisations and opposition politicians over land ownership, compensation, environmental safeguards and the lack of publicly available information about the agreement .
On September 28, 2026, 133 residents filed a legal challenge at the Environment and Land Court in Malindi, seeking to halt the development.
They alleged that land earmarked for the project included ancestral property their families had occupied for generations without adequate compensation or resettlement arrangements.
Justice Jane Onyango ordered that “the status quo prevailing” be maintained in the Lamu area, with further directions scheduled for October 14.
The Kenyan government has defended the land arrangements.
Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome said the largest portion of the land designated for the development was public land, while maintaining that legitimate claims by landowners would be addressed.
Consumer-rights advocates have also demanded that the government and Dangote’s project promoters publicly disclose documents demonstrating compliance with legal, environmental and public-participation requirements.
Save Lamu, a civil society organisation, raised concerns about the absence of publicly available environmental and social impact assessment documentation and unresolved land-compensation issues .
Kenyan opposition figures, including Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang’i and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, have demanded greater disclosure of the project’s financing arrangements and the extent of any proposed government investment .
Dangote Remains Committed Despite Legal Hurdles
Dangote has maintained his commitment to the investment despite the legal challenges.
Speaking at an investor engagement in Nairobi, he downplayed the court order, describing such challenges as routine on the continent. “This is normal for us in Africa. We don’t care,” he said.
The project is expected to serve Kenya and the wider East African market, with supporters arguing that it could expand refining capacity, create employment and stimulate industrial development.
Dangote said the facility will generate up to 60,000 direct and indirect jobs and include a 1,000-megawatt power plant .
He has offered regional governments a combined 30% stake in the refinery.
“This is Africa coming together to build Africa. Today we are not simply breaking ground for a refinery, we’re breaking ground for a new chapter in Africa’s industrial journey to a brighter future,” Dangote said at the groundbreaking.
Osoi’s comments now frame the refinery not only as an investment and energy-security initiative but also as a question of domestic business ownership and economic sovereignty.
