Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote faces fresh court challenge over $327 million Kenya Pipeline deal

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote is facing a fresh legal challenge in Kenya over the reported sale of a 24.76% stake in state-linked Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) to an entity associated with his business interests.

The Milimani High Court has scheduled November 30 for further directions in a constitutional petition filed by human rights activist Francis Awino, who is questioning how institutional investors and pension funds acquired, held and eventually disposed of their shares in the pipeline operator.

In directions issued on November 10, Justice Patricia Nyaundi Mande ordered Awino to serve the petition and accompanying application on all respondents by November 13. The respondents have until November 27 to file their responses.

The judge declined to certify the matter as urgent, stating that it was not an appropriate case for the grant of ex parte orders. The court has not made any findings on the allegations raised in the petition.

Awino is seeking disclosure of the identities of the institutions that sold their KPC shares, the quantities involved, the dates of the transactions and the proceeds received. His petition specifically raises questions about the participation of major pension institutions, including the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Public Service Superannuation Fund (PSSF) and County Pension Fund (CPF).

The activist is also asking the court to compel the relevant institutions to provide investment appraisals, board and trustee resolutions, instructions issued to fund managers, transaction agreements and payment records. He wants a detailed breakdown of acquisition costs, sale proceeds, dividends, brokerage fees and other expenses to establish the financial outcome of the transactions.

The case names the National Treasury, Privatisation Authority, Kenya Pipeline Company and Capital Markets Authority among the respondents. Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals SEZ, the entity associated with the Nigerian billionaire, is also listed.

The petition follows Dangote's reported acquisition of a major stake in KPC, a transaction that expanded his group's interests beyond refining and into petroleum transportation and distribution in East Africa.

As previously reported in Dangote's near-withdrawal from the $327 million Kenya Pipeline deal, the investment was a significant step in the billionaire's efforts to build a wider African energy distribution network.

Kenya Pipeline operates an extensive network transporting petroleum products from the port of Mombasa to inland markets and neighbouring countries. The Kenyan government had previously offered 65% of the company to investors through a February 2026 initial public offering at KSh9 per share. Allocation results announced in March showed that Kenyan institutional investors received 7.45 billion shares.

Awino's petition also seeks temporary orders preventing further transfers, sales or dealings involving the disputed shares while the case is pending. The court has yet to determine whether the transactions were improper or grant the substantive relief being sought.

The November 30 mention will allow the court to give further directions after the respondents have had an opportunity to respond. The proceedings introduce a new legal question around the institutional share disposals behind Dangote's investment, even as his group pursues a larger role in Kenya's petroleum infrastructure.