Residents of Magogoni area in Lamu County are demanding compensation before the Multi trillion oil refinery project is set to be launched mid this week.

The residents said they fully support the project but want the government to compensate them before the actual work begins as they fear eviction from their parcels of land.

Already they have filed a case at the Malindi High Court asking for an in junction to stop the project from commencing until they are compensated.

Immediately after filing the case, a section of the affected families who are natives of Lamu held a demonstration demanding the compensation.

The Dangote Industries Oil refinery project ground breaking ceremony is expected on Wednesday September 30, 2026.

The case was filed at the Malindi Environment and Lands Court no E129/2026 by Salim Tima Swaleh and 132 others.

The defendants include the office of the President, Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Lands Public Works Housing and Urban Development, The Attorney General, The National Lands Commission, LAPPSET Corridor Development, Authority, County Government of Lamu and Dangote Industries.

The locals claim that they are the legal owners of the land but surprisingly those who were being compensated are different people.

In the suit filed through their lawyer George Wakahiu, one of the residents Tima Swaleh said the acquisition of her land and other community members land without prior notice or without being compensated was a grave violation of their constitutional rights.

“The compensation is done to another person without compensating the farmers of the said suit property is a plan to deny us the right as the Bonafide legal owners of being rightfully compensated to the compulsory acquisition,” she said.

Swaleh said the project has already started and the developers have already destroyed their commercial crops without valuation thus causing us great damage that has not been measured.

“It’s our right to be recognized as the bona-fide owners of the suit land and ought to be compensated fully as required by the Constitution of Kenya.

She said on behalf of herself and other Magogoni Farmers who also are the bona-fide owners of the suit property, they pray to the court to find and declare that they are the owners of the suit land that was held as community land and after that declare all of them as the owners.

Further she asked the court to order the national government to compensate them fully.

During the demonstration held in Malindi town the residents said they were born and raised in Lamu and wondered why they were not being compensated despite the project being launched this week.