Deputy President Kithure Kindiki landed in Lamu on Wednesday morning ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Dangote Group's Sh2.2 trillion ($17 billion) East Africa Oil Refinery, with President William Ruto expected to preside over the event later in the day.

Kindiki departed Nairobi early Wednesday and flew into Manda Airport, where he was received ahead of the ceremony marking the formal start of construction on the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery and petrochemical complex. The facility, backed by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote and the Africa Finance Corporation, is being built within the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor and is designed to process crude from Kenya's Lokichar fields in Turkana alongside supplies from other African and international producers. Several regional heads of state and senior government officials were expected to attend.

At the ceremony, Kindiki revived his well-known "fire si fire" catchphrase to introduce Dangote to the crowd, drawing laughter from those gathered: "Mpigie makofi vizuri, Dangote ni fire si fire." Dangote, addressing the gathering, framed the refinery as an opening act for wider investment in Kenya. "What this investment (Lamu refinery) will do for the Kenyans, it's not only the refinery; the refinery is like the gate. Once you open and have the refinery, you'll be shocked at how many people will know to come and invest in Kenya," he said.

Kindiki has previously said the project is expected to create more than 50,000 jobs while cutting the region's dependence on imported petroleum products, and to support manufacturing and logistics industries around Lamu. Dangote has offered East African countries a combined 30 percent equity stake in the refinery and associated infrastructure, with Kenya committed to a 10 percent shareholding; the government has separately set aside $165 million as seed capital for the project. Dangote expects construction to take about three years, targeting completion around 2030.

Groundbreaking proceeds despite legal challenge

Wednesday's ceremony went ahead despite an ongoing land dispute involving residents who say the project site includes land their families have occupied for generations. A group of 133 residents has filed a court case seeking to halt activities on the disputed land. Dangote has said a Kenyan court ruling on the matter will not stop the groundbreaking, though he acknowledged it could affect some activities at the site going forward. He has said the company is prepared to contest the challenge, pointing to a similar land dispute his company faced in Senegal that was eventually resolved at that country's Supreme Court.