Kenyan Tribunal Dismisses Consumer Group’s Petition against Dangote’s Planned Refinery

A Kenyan tribunal has dismissed a petition by a consumer rights organisation against the planned crude oil refinery project by Aliko Dangote, president of the Dangote Group, in the East African country.

According to a Reuters report on Thursday, the case filed by the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) was one of several legal hurdles facing the 700,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery development at Lamu port on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast.

The tribunal ruled that the petitioner failed to establish that the refinery was a public-private partnership (PPP) project and that there was no legal basis for compelling the disclosure of its documents, according to a ruling dated October 30.

In its petition, COFEK had asked Kenya’s public-private partnerships petition committee tribunal to set aside and review any approvals granted to the refinery that did not comply with relevant requirements.

The consumer rights organisation also sought an order compelling the disclosure of details of the government’s plan to acquire a stake in the refinery, including the investment vehicle, share class, payment terms, and evidence of public participation.

On August 21, David Ndii, chairman of the Kenyan president’s council of economic advisors, said Dangote Group offered East African countries a 30 percent equity stake in his planned refinery in the region.

Dangote had launched the refinery project in Lamu, Kenya, despite a Kenyan court ruling that ordered a pause on the construction of the refinery project, following a petition by some locals opposing the project.

On October 14, the court lifted the order, granting the refinery clearance to commence construction work in Lamu.