By Hassan Wekesa - Editor
Kenya, 7 October 2026 - Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna who on Sunday unveiled The Equitable Party (TEP) as his preferred political vehicle in the Linda Mwananchi faction has accused President William Ruto of allegedly taking comfort in the belief that Parliament will block any attempt to bring to the public the records on the Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery.
Sifuna said on Wednesday that his own request addresed to the Senate Speaker Amason Kingi requesting for a Statement on the Standing Committee on Energy on the project, whose groundbreaking ceremony happened on 30 September 2026, has suffered that fate.
In a post on social media platform X, Sifuna said President Ruto speaks confidently at rallies about using "formal channels" to obtain documents held by the State because "he knows his gatekeepers in Parliament will never approve this business to make it to the floor."
"This one on the Lamu Refinery has suffered the same fate," he wrote, adding that the Kenyan electorate must uproot the entire system in 2027 to rescue the country.
Sifuna's request, stamped received by the Senate on Friday, 2 October 2026 at 12:12pm, is addressed to the Speaker under Standing Order 53(1).
It asks the Standing Committee on Energy to make a statement on the proposed construction of a new oil refinery in Lamu County.
In the request, the senator says that "no one is opposed to development or foreign investment," but that public projects must conform to the values in Article 10 of the Constitution, including transparency, accountability, public participation and sustainable development.
He also cited Articles 201 and 227, which deal with public finance principles and procurement. He argues these require proactive disclosure of project data, contracting processes and financial dealings.
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Describing the refinery as one of the biggest projects under the current administration, Sifuna said its financial models, community impact, level of government investment, public participation record and environmental impact should be made public before work begins.
He requested the Senate Committee to require production of all records on the Dangote refinery project, as provided under Article 35(3) of the Constitution, which guarantees access to information.
The firebrand presidential hopeful also requested details of the public participation conducted before the project was approved, including community concerns raised.
Also of concern to him is the financing and implementation model, including how much taxpayers will pay and the source of those funds.
He stated that the public wants to see value-for-money and whether there is analysis for any public investment in the project.
Additionally, the former Secretary General of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wants all beneficial owners of the overall project and the firms involved in implementation listed and made public.
During the launch of the Lamu refinery project, which is estimated at $16 billion (KSh2.2 trillion) Nigerian businessman and billionaire Aliko Dangote stated that the project would create 60,000 jobs. Timeframe for the completion of the project is 40 months.