Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and Kenyan President William Ruto are currently breaking ground on a landmark $16 billion oil refinery in Lamu, on Kenya’s northern coast.

The ceremony, held on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, formally launches construction of the 700,000-barrel-per-day facility, which is set to become the largest refinery in East Africa and the second-largest on the continent after Dangote’s plant in Lekki, Nigeria. The project aims to replicate the success of the Nigerian refinery by processing crude for regional markets, reducing East Africa’s long-standing dependence on imported refined petroleum products, lowering fuel costs, and conserving scarce foreign exchange.

Several African leaders are attending the groundbreaking, including the presidents of Uganda and Ethiopia, along with other regional heads of state and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. The event underscores growing continental efforts to process raw materials locally rather than exporting crude and importing finished fuels.

Once completed around 2030, the Lamu refinery is expected to supply Kenya and neighbouring countries such as Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and others. Officials project it will create between 50,000 and 60,000 jobs and stimulate related industries, including petrochemicals and bitumen production. The complex will also feature a 1,000-megawatt power plant, with plans to sell a portion of the electricity to the Kenyan government.

Dangote has offered East African governments a combined 30% equity stake in the project. Financing is structured with roughly 70% debt and 30% equity. The facility is located near Lamu’s deep-water port, chosen for its strategic advantages in handling large-scale industrial operations.

While the project has faced some local land-related protests and a court order maintaining the status quo pending a hearing, the groundbreaking is proceeding as planned. Dangote has dismissed the challenges and reaffirmed that construction will move forward, with the plant targeted for completion in under four years.

The development is being hailed as one of Kenya’s biggest infrastructure investments since independence and a major step toward regional energy security and industrialisation.

• Forensic officers and the army at the scene of a mass shooting at a bar in Wedela township, 27 September, 2026 AP Photo

The death toll from a mass shooting at a South African tavern has risen to 18 after one person died in hospital, police said on Monday, announcing at least two of the dead were Lesotho nationals.

The shooting west of Johannesburg late on Saturday was part of a bloody weekend in the crime-weary country, with 10 people killed in another mass shooting in Cape Town on Sunday.

Eight gunmen armed with assault rifles stormed the bar in the semi-rural township of Wedela, around 80 kilometres from central Johannesburg, and killed13 men and four women, police said.

“One more victim has died in hospital, bringing the total number of deceased to 18,” they said.

“Only four of the deceased have been identified, two South Africans and two Lesotho nationals.”

The motive for the attack was not clear but the area is reportedly gripped by rivalry between gangs involved in illicit mining for gold.

Thousands of unregistered miners operate in abandoned mining shafts in South Africa, many coming from across southern Africa, including the kingdom of Lesotho which is within South Africa.

Thirteen people including three army officers were killed on Friday when a military plane crashed in Democratic ‌Republic of Congo, an official said.

Reuters reported that the plane was travelling to the capital, Kinshasa, from the southwestern city of Kikwit when it experienced a technical problem and attempted ⁠to land in Kenge, in Kwango province, said Remy Saki Bokinda, the Kwango vice governor.

“With no landing strip available in Kenge, the plane crashed into a residential plot,” he said.

The passengers included General Likulia Bakumi, the army’s auditor general, as well as a major, ‌a ⁠captain and other military personnel and civilians, Bokinda said.

“All those on board died; 12 were burned beyond recognition, while the pilot’s lifeless body was ⁠found outside the aircraft,” he said.

Congo’s aviation accident investigation authority is launching a probe of the crash, ⁠a government statement said.

Congo’s army suffered significant setbacks last year at the hands of ⁠Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebels who seized large swathes of the east.