Just days after breaking ground on a massive $16 billion crude refinery along Kenya’s coast, Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote is running into sharp resistance from watchdog groups and local landowners demanding to know how public money and coastal acreage are being spent.

The Consumers Federation of Kenya filed a formal petition this week with the country’s Public-Private Partnerships committee, taking direct aim at the terms of the Kenyan government’s planned financial backing. The petition opens a second legal front against the coastal project, which is designed to process 700,000 barrels of oil a day.

The pushback comes on the heels of a Sept. 30 ceremony in Lamu, where Dangote joined Kenyan President William Ruto to turn the first shovels of dirt. Under the current schedule, the plant is slated to come online around 2030, with backers pitching it as a long-term solution to East Africa’s dependence on costly foreign fuel shipments.

Scrutiny over public funds

The consumer group’s petition does not target Dangote’s private stake in the venture. Instead, it demands that state officials hand over records showing how the partnership was cleared behind closed doors, including which procurement rules were applied and whether independent analysts ever checked if taxpayers were getting a fair deal.

Much of the debate turns on a proposed 10% state equity stake, valued at roughly $500 million. The federation wants regulators to spell out which state agency would hold those shares, the specific terms of payment, and whether any public cash has already left state coffers.

Watchdogs are also questioning a reported 21.5 billion Kenyan shilling seed allocation tied to the development. The petition asks the government to clarify whether lawmakers simply approved the sum on paper or signed binding contracts, while demanding full disclosure of any hidden state guarantees that could put public funds at risk.

Rising land tensions

The fight over financing intersects with an unresolved clash over the ground beneath the plant. The watchdog group asked regulators to provide official deeds, property valuations, and details on any state pledges regarding energy supply or guaranteed fuel purchases.

That request follows an existing lawsuit brought by 133 coastal residents over a plot identified as LR No. 13061 in the Hindi/Manda Magogoni area. Community members argue the site sits on ancestral grounds that were taken without fair compensation. Government officials contend the land is state-owned and designated for the Lamu Special Economic Zone.

The Malindi Environment and Land Court has ordered all sides to hold off on any work on the site while the case plays out, setting a hearing for Oct. 14. Dangote brushed aside the brewing opposition during the groundbreaking event, telling guests his group has weathered complex projects before and plans to stay on schedule. A spokesperson for Dangote Industries did not return calls seeking comment on the latest petition.

Dangote sticks to the playbook

The Lamu build mimics the scale of Dangote’s flagship operation outside Lagos, Nigeria, which cost roughly $20 billion and carries a matching 700,000-barrel daily capacity. The industrialist shored up his balance sheet in September, when Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals launched an initial public offering in Nigeria.

The listing offered 4.1 billion shares priced at 525 naira each, targeting $1.6 billion in proceeds and pegging the refinery’s valuation near $49 billion. Capital from the offer is earmarked to lift the Nigerian plant’s output toward 1.4 million barrels a day, while the Lamu development aims to replicate that model across the continent, anchoring Dangote’s refining footprint in East Africa.

For officials in Nairobi, however, the project’s viability now hinges on basic accountability. The federation maintains it has no quarrel with Dangote building a refinery, but insists the state must publish its contracts, land transfers, and spending commitments before taxpayers are locked into the deal.