Dangote’s planned Kenya refinery faces legal challenge by consumer-rights group

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote's $16 billion oil refinery in Kenya faces another legal challenge, this time from a ​consumer-rights group alleging that key details about the project ‌have not been made public.

• The Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) filed a petition with the Public Private Partnerships Petition Committee, COFEK Secretary General Stephen ​Mutoro said in a post on X.
• It is the ​second legal hurdle for the 700,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, after more ⁠than 130 residents filed a lawsuit, saying the land in ​Lamu — where the plant is being built — is their ancestral heritage. ​A hearing on the case is due on October 14.
• COFEK wants any non-compliant approvals set aside for the refinery and reconsidered.
• It wants details about ​the government's plan to take a stake in the ​refinery to be disclosed, such as the acquisition vehicle, share class and payment ‌terms ⁠and evidence that there was public participation, among other things.
• A Dangote Group spokesperson declined to comment.
• A Kenyan government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
• When he broke ​ground to start ​construction on ⁠Wednesday, Dangote shrugged off the land rights claim and expressed confidence the refinery would go ahead, ​saying: "Anybody who wants to cause trouble, we ​are ready."
• Dangote ⁠is looking to replicate his group's 700,000 bpd refinery in Nigeria. He has offered regional governments a combined 30% stake in ⁠the ​Lamu refinery, which is scheduled to ​be completed in 2030.

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