Court blocks Kajiado government bid to join Tata Chemicals case
Closed main entrance to Tata Chemicals Magadi plant in Kajiado County on September 7, 2026.
The High Court in Nairobi has dismissed an application by the Kajiado County Government to be joined to a case challenging the suspension of Tata Chemicals Magadi’s mining operations as an interested party.
The ruling stems from an application made by the giant soda ash mining company on July 30, 2026, in Case No HCJR/E280/2026 against the Cabinet secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs and the principal secretary in the same ministry.
The Ministry had suspended the company’s operating license over alleged unspecified non-compliance on July 28, 2026, prompting a legal battle.
The county government made an application on September 4, 2026, seeking to be joined to the case proceedings as an interested party, and to be permitted to file a response to the originating motion dated July 30, 2026.
In a supporting affidavit served in court, Kajiado Lands executive Hamilton Parseina, sworn on September 4, 2026, averred that the applicant carries out mining operations on trust land vested in the proposed interested party and leased to the applicant by the national Executive.
He said the lease had recently been extended, but the proposed interested party had challenged the validity of that extension in Kajiado ELC No E043 of 2023.
Further, it highlighted that there was litigation between the applicant and the proposed interested party in various cases over rates and other matters. The suits include Nairobi CACA No E116 of 2025, Kajiado ELC No E089 of 2024, Kajiado Constitutional Petition No. E003 of 2021, Supreme Court Petition No. E027 of 2026 and Nairobi CACA No 530 of 2019.
On Friday September 25, 2026, Justice William Musyoka ruled that the county had not demonstrated a sufficiently direct and identifiable interest in the judicial review proceedings to warrant its joinder.
The judge said the case filed by Tata Chemicals challenges the legality, procedural fairness and lawfulness of the decision by the Cabinet Secretary for Mining to suspend its mining operations, rather than the merits of the suspension.
The court noted that under the Mining Act, the Cabinet Secretary has powers to suspend or revoke mining rights and licenses and is not required to consult Kajiado County before exercising those powers under the relevant provisions.
"The cause herein is on or the dispute is about suspension of a mining licence or mining operations, in respect of which the proposed interested party has no mandate at all, and where there is no obligation, on the 1st respondent, to consult the said proposed interested party or its officers, regarding the matters the subject of sections 147 and 173 of the Mining Act. To that extent, the dispute herein should not require the involvement of the proposed interested party, who would not add any value to the resolution of the issues at hand." Ruled Justice Musyoka.
Justice Musyoka said Kajiado County’s arguments largely concerned land leasing, land rates and other disputes involving Tata Chemicals, matters which are already being litigated in separate cases before other courts.
The judge held that those issues were not sufficiently connected to the dispute before him and that allowing the county to join the case could unnecessarily expand the scope of the proceedings.
"The issues, being litigated herein, are not proximate to those articulated by the proposed interested party, in its joinder application, and the said joinder, if allowed, could result in the dispute herein being expanded beyond what the originating motion is about. Consequently, the motion herein, dated 4th September 2026, is not merited," Added Justice Musyoka.
On July 30, the company had moved to the High Court in Nairobi seeking stay orders vide Case No HCJR/E280/2026 before Justice William Musyoka, who ruled against the company on August 7, 2026.
The case is active in court, with judgment slated to be delivered on October 23, 2026, and a mention scheduled for October 6, 2026, according to court papers in possession of the Nation, dashing hopes of operations resuming before then. For two months now, the company remains closed.
Meanwhile, talks are underway between the Ministry of Mining and Tata Chemicals following the formation of a high-level committee two weeks ago, co-led by the Principal Secretary for Mining and Tata Chemicals’ chief executive officer, to review the matters and report back with recommendations.
Among the key issues to be addressed are mineral beneficiation, community benefits, royalty payments, county land disputes, opening the area to broader mineral extraction and other unresolved land matters.
Tata Chemicals Company is centered around Lake Magadi, an alkaline soda lake famous for its thick crust of white and pink trona salt. Most locals are pastoralists. The company mines soda ash (sodium carbonate) from underground or surface deposits of trona ore using dredging, underground conventional mining or solution mining.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.
