Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development Alice Wahome cautioned that there is no free land for squatters to illegally occupy, emphasizing that the government will not compensate unlawful invaders.

Wahome referred to more than 5,000 acres set aside for the Ksh2 trillion Dangote East Africa Oil Refinery in Lamu, noting that compensation for legitimate owners does not grant a right to seize private or public land.

A multi‑agency verification team has been formed to confirm the identity of lawful landowners in the refinery’s catchment area and other planned developments.

Speaking at the launch of Customer Service Week for the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, Wahome said the exercise will expose individuals seeking illegal compensation, and noted that Ksh10 billion has been set aside since 2024 to settle outstanding land matters.

Wahome, accompanied by Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir, alleged that unnamed Nairobi‑based actors are stoking discord among local residents and sponsoring court petitions aimed at disrupting the refinery’s construction, which will process 700,000 barrels of crude daily.

She also highlighted recent reforms at Ardhi House that have boosted revenue collection, with up to Ksh22 billion collected so far, attributing the rise to anti‑corruption measures and digitisation of land services that handled over 700,000 transactions in the last financial year.