Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni and Kenya's President William Ruto have launched the Dangote East African Refinery at Lamu, on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, according to a report by The Independent Uganda.

The launch marks the formal unveiling of the Dangote Group's downstream investment aimed at East Africa's coastal refining and fuel supply market. Lamu hosts Kenya's second commercial seaport, and the refinery project positions the site as a potential fuels trading hub for the wider region.

Presidential attendance from both Kampala and Nairobi signals the cross-border commercial stakes attached to the project. Uganda, a landlocked importer of refined products, has long sought cheaper and more secure supply routes, while Kenya competes to anchor regional throughput at its own coastal infrastructure.

The Independent Uganda did not report commissioning timelines, processing capacity figures, or investment totals for the facility in its announcement coverage. Details on configuration, product slate, and crude supply arrangements remain to be confirmed by the Dangote Group.

The project extends Dangote's refining footprint beyond Nigeria, where the 650,000-b/d Dangote Refinery at Lekki began operations as Africa's largest single-train crude processing facility. East Africa currently relies heavily on imported refined products, with the region's principal refining assets operating well below nameplate capacity.

The watch items now are the startup timeline the company discloses, the facility's nameplate capacity, and the crude sourcing and product offtake agreements that will determine whether Lamu becomes a genuine regional supply centre.