William Ruto Opens Lamu Oil Refinery Shares to Public

President William Ruto announced that the Sh2 trillion Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu will be an open and transparent investment, allowing ordinary Kenyans to purchase shares through the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Speaking during a development tour of Kilifi and Kwale counties on September 29, Ruto stated that the government will provide public education to ensure share ownership is not limited to wealthy investors. The Government of Kenya intends to retain a stake in the project, which will process crude oil from Kenya and regional sources for East African markets.

Ruto described the refinery as an economic game-changer and expects it to help increase foreign direct investment in Kenya to between $6 billion and $7 billion. He criticized individuals sponsoring court cases to frustrate the project and warned that the government would not allow profiteers or those making unreasonable demands to derail the investment. He argued that Kenya must provide incentives rather than restrictive conditions to avoid losing major projects, citing previous failures to secure a crude oil pipeline and a cement investment from Aliko Dangote.

During the same tour, Ruto issued 36,000 title deeds to residents in Kilifi as part of a Sh10 billion initiative to resolve land disputes in the Coast region. He also highlighted infrastructure progress, including the nearly complete Mwache Dam in Kwale and a Sh15 billion allocation for the blue economy to improve fish landing sites and deep-sea fishing capacity.