I am not boarding: Uganda's Museveni says will not invest in Lamu refinery

 

President William Ruto shakes hands with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Lamu Refinery plant on Sept 30, 2026. [PCS]

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has said that although he supports the Lamu refinery project, he will not invest in it.

Speaking today during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Sh2 trillion project in Lamu, Museveni said Uganda is already at an advanced stage to set up a small refinery and the plan won’t stop.

In remarks that have sparked controversy, Museveni said he had held talks with President Ruto about the plan.

“In Uganda we have some petroleum…we are going to build a small refinery and because we had planned this a long time ago, we can’t change that…,” Museveni said.

He added, “We had discussed with Mama Suluhu and President Ruto to build a refinery in Tanga…. There were some challenges, but I don’t know what happened, so I want to check on that one first…I support this project, but I will not invest here… I want to check with Samia to understand what happened to the Tanga deal and establish whether we can harmonise…”

According to Museveni, the Lamu deal is a major milestone for the East African Community as it brings to an end the betrayal African countries have endured for years.

“I am very happy to be alive and see the betrayal of Africa for the last 70 years by leaders who refused to study and know what it needs to develop the continent come to an end…,” he said.

Museveni said the biggest challenge to Africa has been leaders who refused to study and know what it needs to develop the continent.

“We cannot continue to export unprocessed raw materials; we have to utilise our resources maximally and become the producers,” he said.

Museveni said political and EAC integration will further create a conducive environment for the plant to flourish.

“Nataka niambiwe mtoto wangu wa Uganda atapata ajira hapa Lamu. We need to wake up and maximise our future and allow our citizens to work in any African country. We have been told about EAC companies buying shares in the refinery, but that is not addressing the issue of jobs,” Museveni said.

He added, “I am very happy that Africa is now waking up to be front runners in exporting finished products,” he said.

The groundbreaking of the Dangote refinery, however, sets the ground for construction of what will be the biggest infrastructure project in the country so far.

The Sh2 trillion project is expected to be a major boost for the economy of Lamu both during construction and afterwards, and has also been seen as key for the region.

Despite the scale and economic benefits, the deal is seen as among the key projects that have split East African Community member states and resulted in their pulling in different directions.

It is among a series of recent major energy projects that EAC countries are building separately but which observers say would make more sense from both economic and political views if they were to be undertaken jointly.

The Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote had expressed interest in building a refinery similar to the 650,000 barrel per day facility he built in his home country and was initially set for construction on the Tanzanian coastline in Tanga.

President William Ruto, at a business conference in Nairobi earlier this year, announced plans for the Tanga refinery and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda appeared to have been in agreement. A major problem, however, arose when Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu claimed she was unaware and at some point, asked Ruto to explain at a public forum how EAC countries decided to set up a joint refinery at Tanga.

Following the fallout, Ruto appears to have separately courted Dangote, who had expressed interest in building the Tanga Refinery, with Kenya appearing to have sold the advantages of Lamu as an ideal hub for the refinery.