Ruto allies hit out at opposition over Dangote refinery

National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, his Senate counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot and other leaders address a rally in Narok County on October 3, 2026. [George Sayagie, Standard]

President William Ruto's political allies have continued their attacks on the opposition leaders over the proposed Sh2.2 trillion Dangote East Africa Refinery.

The leaders, led by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, and his Senate counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot, hit out at Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna for demanding that the government reveal the agreement to set up the oil refinery in Lamu.

They turned a youth empowerment event in Narok County into a platform to discredit the opposition and rally support for Ruto's re-election in the next General Election.

Ichung'wah, Cheruiyot, National Assembly Chief Whip Silvanus Osoro and Narok Governor Patrick ole Ntutu used the rally to defend the Ruto administration and discredit Sifuna, former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

At the core of the political offensive was Sifuna's demand that Parliament be allowed to scrutinise the agreement between the Kenyan government and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote on the planned Lamu refinery.

The Nairobi Senator argued that lawmakers have not been shown the agreement or briefed on commitments Kenya has made to facilitate the project.

He has invoked Article 35 of the Constitution, which provides for access to information held by the State and requires the State to publish and publicise important information affecting the nation.

The leaders, however, have interpreted the demand differently, accusing the senator of attempting to frustrate a major investment.

Ichung'wah accused Sifuna of using the demand for the agreement to extort investors and challenged him to use Parliament's established procedures if he wanted access to government documents.

“You have a right to information like any other Kenyan, but as a legislator there is a procedure to ask for that information.”

He accused the opposition of turning every national issue into a political weapon, claiming that the same forces had previously attempted to frustrate Dangote's proposed cement investment in Kenya.

“The sponsors had previously blocked a Dangote cement factory over kickback demands, and they are trying the same tricks to derail the deal by sending Sifuna to demand the agreement to see who has been given shares in the refinery,” Ichung'wah said.

Those allegations were not independently established at the rally.

During the Coast tour, Ruto hit out at Sifuna over demands for the oil refinery deal and asked him to follow parliamentary procedures to obtain the document.

The exchange comes days after the groundbreaking of the proposed refinery in Lamu on September 30.

The project, estimated to cost Sh2.2 trillion, is designed to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day and is expected by the government to generate jobs, stimulate supporting industries and strengthen the Lamu Port and LAPSSET corridor.

The government has put the potential employment impact at about 60,000 jobs.

The investment has nevertheless generated questions beyond politics.

Residents have raised land and environmental concerns, and have filed a court case challenging aspects of the project.

A recent court ruling ordered the status quo to be maintained in a land dispute while the matter proceeds.

Sifuna has cited some of those concerns in arguing that Parliament and the public should understand the commitments surrounding the investment.

He has maintained that he is not opposed to development but wants major projects implemented within constitutional requirements.

At the Narok rally, however, Ichung'wah framed the dispute as an attempt by political actors to derail investment.

“In this refinery, there will be no extortion; there will be no shares without paying for them. If you want shares, you must pay for them like any other Kenyan since it will be traded at the Nairobi Stock Exchange at Sh49 per share,” he said.

 Osoro, warned Sifuna and those supporting his position that Dangote was “above their pay cheque”.

“Dangote is not in Kenya to borrow money. He has not come to rallies, markets or the streets to ask for contributions. He has come with his own money to invest in the country. Why are you asking questions over it?” Osoro asked.

He challenged the opposition to disclose other major government agreements if they insisted on making the Dangote agreement public.

“If the Dangote agreement will be brought to the public, the agreement for building the Expressway, the Eurobond agreement, Thika Road, Kidong Ranch and the SGR agreement that stalled in Naivasha should all be made public,” Osoro said.

The Dangote dispute was only one front in the political offensive.

Cheruiyot turned his guns on opposition figures making political forays into Narok, particularly Matiang'i and Gachagua, accusing them of disrespecting the county's leadership and the Maasai community.

He took issue with remarks attributed to Matiang'i during a recent visit to the county in which the former CS said he did not recognise Ntutu as governor.

“I was perturbed last week by the utterances of the former CS for Interior when he toured this county, who said he doesn't know or recognise the Narok governor, even going on to say he was given a certificate in the bush,” Cheruiyot said.

“Whether you like it or not, Ntutu is the Narok governor, and it can't change.”

The dispute is part of a wider political contest over Narok ahead of the 2027 elections.

Earlier this year, former Narok North MP Moitalel ole Kenta declared his interest in the governorship and questioned the legitimacy of the 2022 election, allegations that have remained contested.

Cheruiyot also attacked Gachagua over his intervention in the recent controversy in Samburu involving pastoralists and their livestock.

The former Deputy President has accused the government of mistreating the Maasai community and alleged that police shot dead cattle belonging to pastoralists in Samburu.

He has presented the incident as part of wider grievances over land and the treatment of Maasai communities.

Cheruiyot responded by accusing Gachagua of lacking the moral authority to speak for the Maasai, citing allegations that livestock were taken from former President Uhuru Kenyatta's farm during the political upheaval of the previous administration.

“He has a history of invading other people's farms and making away with livestock. How can he become the Maasai community spokesman? Will your livestock be safe?” he asked.

The allegations against Gachagua were made politically at the rally and were not independently established by evidence presented there.

Governor Ntutu, meanwhile, sought to turn the rally into a show of political control, warning leaders seeking votes in Narok against importing confrontations into the county.

He dismissed claims that the town was bracing for chaos and accused some politicians of spreading propaganda ahead of the Kenya Kwanza event.

“Let them come and sell their agenda and stop propaganda. Matiang'i said he doesn't know the Narok governor, and those who were spreading propaganda that there will be chaos in Narok today were mistaken,” Ntutu said.

He insisted that Narok remained peaceful and that residents from different communities were living together without threats.

“All people living in this town are one community. There is peace and communities in Narok are safe. Nobody has threatened them to go out,” he said.

The governor also rallied residents behind Ruto's re-election bid.

The rally increasingly resembled an early 2027 campaign event, with Kenya Kwanza leaders openly drumming up support for Ruto's second-term bid.

Cheruiyot urged the Maasai community to back the President, citing government projects including development around Narok and the titling of parts of the Mau Forest.

Osoro argued that there was no reason to assume Ruto would serve only one term, citing the long presidencies of Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi, as well as the two-term presidencies of Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta.

Laikipia Woman Representative Jane Kangi also reiterated support for Ruto, while Migori ODM Woman Representative Fatima Fulewa was among the politicians mentioned during the political gathering.

The Narok mobilisation came against the backdrop of an opposition push into the Rift Valley and the recent election of Douglas Masikonde on the Democratic Change Party ticket, a development that has added another dimension to the political contest in the region.