Kenya has committed to taking a stake in Uganda's oil refinery as the two countries push to end decades of exporting raw resources and importing the finished products made from them, with President William Ruto calling for a continental rethink on how Africa manages its energy and mineral wealth.
- •Speaking at the "Africa We Build" Summit 2026 in Nairobi on Thursday, Ruto announced that Kenya would invest directly in Uganda's planned 60,000-barrel-per-day domestic refinery, framing it as a reciprocal move after Uganda expressed interest in acquiring a stake in the Kenya Pipeline Company.
- •The announcement builds on the summit's larger headline, in which Aliko Dangote pledged to lead a 650,000-barrel-per-day regional refinery in Tanga, Tanzania, within four to five years.
- •Together, the commitments mark a significant shift in East Africa's posture on petroleum, from import dependency toward domestic refining capacity anchored by regional ownership.
"I want to assure you that the same way Uganda sought to invest in Kenya Pipeline, Kenya is going to invest in your refinery and in the future of our resources together," President Ruto said.
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni illustrated the cost of the current model with a mining example. An Indian investor, he said, had been buying Uganda's iron ore at US$45 per tonne and reselling it at US$900 per tonne.
"Mind you our ore is the best in the world, about 70% pure," Museveni said. "And that means we export all the jobs created. So I stopped them." He made the same point on gold, noting that unprocessed gold fetches US$60,000 per kilogram against US$168,000 for processed gold.
Ruto extended the argument beyond petroleum and iron ore to the minerals underpinning the global energy transition. Africa holds significant reserves of copper, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements, resources that the rest of the world needs to build electric vehicles, batteries, and renewable energy infrastructure. "We must now move deliberately to pool these resources and position ourselves competitively in global green manufacturing," he said.
He drew a deliberate historical parallel, comparing Africa's current moment to the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the post-war arrangement that pooled French and German industrial resources and eventually evolved into the European Union. The implication was pointed: resource integration is not just an economic strategy, it is a nation-building one.
Ruto also turned the lens on Africa's own internal frictions. "Petty jealousy is a problem in Africa," he said, recounting how a Kenyan request for Uganda to supply iron ore for processing in Nairobi was declined, prompting Kenyan investors to establish processing plants in Uganda instead. He described the outcome as ultimately beneficial to both countries, noting that importing steel from Uganda is now cheaper than sourcing it from foreign markets.
The broader warning was directed at Africa's overreliance on external financing. "Our ambitions will remain unrealised if we continue to depend on external capital whose primary interest is securing raw materials for their own industries," Ruto said. "As the saying goes, he who pays the piper calls the tune."
Museveni echoed the financing argument, calling for African pension funds to be redirected into continental infrastructure rather than flowing offshore, a position that aligned with the AFC's own report finding that Africa now holds over US$2 trillion in domestic non-bank capital, more than it received in a decade of external flows, yet continues to underinvest in the industrial assets that would unlock its resource wealth.
The summit continues on Friday with a project showcase and deal rooms focused on finance, transport, and energy infrastructure across the continent.
