Tata Chemicals Magadi has warned that more than 1,000 livelihoods depend on how quickly it can reopen its soda ash operations at Lake Magadi, which have been idle since the Ministry of Mining suspended them on July 28.
The company told the High Court that more than 500 direct employees and about 600 contractors stand to be affected if the shutdown continues, People Daily reported. It also said a planned Sh3.62 billion expansion of the plant could be disrupted.
A dispute fought on several fronts
The legal fight is now in its third month. Tata went to court on July 30 seeking to stop the suspension, but Justice William Musyoka declined to grant interim orders on August 7. Judgment in the judicial review case is due on October 23, according to court papers seen by the Daily Nation, which means operations are unlikely to restart before then.
Kajiado County tried to join the case, citing a separate claim of Sh11.4 billion in unpaid land rates and its challenge to the extension of the company’s lease on trust land. On September 25, Justice Musyoka threw out that application. He ruled that the case concerns whether the Cabinet Secretary acted lawfully in suspending a mining licence, a power the Mining Act gives the minister without any duty to consult the county.
“The said joinder, if allowed, could result in the dispute herein being expanded beyond what the originating motion is about,” the judge said. The county’s rates claim continues in other courts.
Committee looks at royalties and local processing
Away from the courtroom, a technical committee set up on September 8 and co-chaired by the Mining Principal Secretary and Tata’s chief executive is reviewing compliance, local value addition, community benefits and royalty payments. President William Ruto has publicly criticised the firm for exporting soda ash without creating enough manufacturing jobs in Kenya.
Soda ash is one of the country’s more significant mineral exports. Official figures show 254,779 tonnes worth $56.9 million were shipped in the year to July 2025.
For suppliers, transporters and traders in Magadi town, the outcome matters as much as it does for the company. The plant is the main employer in an area where most residents are pastoralists, and two months of closure have already cut off contract income for many households.
The October 23 ruling will settle only the legal question of whether the suspension was properly made. Whether Tata can resume mining on terms both sides accept will depend on what the technical committee recommends.
Sources: People Daily | Daily Nation
Photo: Kenenock / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
