Sifuna Demands Ruto-Dangote Refinery Agreement, Cites Constitutional Right to Information

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 2 – Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has hit back at President William Ruto after the President criticised his demand for the agreement between the government and businessman Aliko Dangote over the planned oil refinery in Lamu.

Sifuna invoked Article 35 of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to access information held by the State and requires the government to publish and publicise important information affecting the nation.

“Article 35 (1): Every citizen has the right of access to information held by the State,” Sifuna said.

He further cited Article 35(3), which provides that the State shall publish and publicise any important information affecting the nation.

Sifuna argued that disclosure of such information is a constitutional obligation and should not depend on the discretion of an individual government official.

“Disclosure of information is a Constitutional imperative not something left to the whims of one person,” he said.

The Nairobi Senator was responding to President Ruto’s criticism of calls for the government to make public details of its agreement with Dangote over the proposed refinery.

Sifuna said the demand for disclosure was rooted in the constitutional right to information, particularly where agreements involve matters of national interest and public resources.

He also criticised what he described as “secretive deals negotiated in the dark,” arguing that greater transparency was necessary in the conduct of government business.

“The era of secretive deals negotiated in the dark will end when we kick this current regime out and return our country back to the rule of Law,” Sifuna said.

President Ruto has been championing the planned Sh2.2 trillion Dangote East Africa Oil Refinery in Lamu, which is expected to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels per day.

The President has described the project as a major investment that will create jobs, attract foreign investment and support the development of petrochemical and related industries.

The proposed refinery has also generated public debate over its financing, ownership structure, government participation and the terms of the agreement between Kenya and Dangote.

Sifuna’s latest remarks have therefore shifted the political debate towards the constitutional question of access to information and the extent to which details of major government agreements should be made public.