Ruto Hails Museveni for Backing Dangote Refinery Project

What the report says

Kenyan President William Ruto praised Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for supporting regional integration and, in Ruto’s view, helping move forward the proposed Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery in Lamu. The remarks were made on Wednesday at the project’s groundbreaking ceremony in Mokowe, Lamu County, where Museveni and Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote were present.

According to Nile Post, Ruto said Museveni had encouraged Kenya to consider the refinery as a regional project rather than a purely national one. He described Museveni as a leading voice for East African cooperation and thanked him for backing the initiative during earlier discussions with a Kenyan delegation.

The refinery and associated petrochemicals special economic zone are reported to be valued at $16 billion. The project is planned to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is tied to the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport corridor. The article says the facility is expected to draw crude from regional sources, including Kenya’s Turkana fields, and supply fuel products to markets across East Africa and beyond.

Nile Post also reported that Museveni used the visit to reaffirm Uganda’s interest in building its own refining capacity in Hoima. The project matters because it reflects broader efforts to expand energy infrastructure and regional trade links in East Africa, where governments are seeking more local processing of petroleum resources.