Ruto changes tune on Magadi soda ash mining after uproar over Tata Chemicals exit order
President William Ruto in Kajiado on the second day of his three-day tour.
President William Ruto on Saturday said the Magadi soda ash mining contract will be advertised afresh through a competitive bidding process, opening the mineral-rich area to several companies and ending India’s Tata Chemicals monopoly.
Speaking in Kajiado on the second day of his three-day tour, at Ngong, while commissioning the upgrading of the Ngong-Kibiko-Kangeria Road to bitumen standards, which connects Kajiado and Kiambu counties, President Ruto also appeared to retract his earlier statement in Loitokitok that a new company had already been identified to take over from troubled Tata Chemicals.
The Ministry of Mining and Blue Economy suspended the giant Indian soda ash mining company’s licence in July over non-compliance issues.
Breathing fire, Dr Ruto categorically said the Tata Chemicals contract, which he termed exploitative, could no longer continue, opening the doors for new companies seeking to tap into the region’s natural resources and undertake value addition locally.
“We are going to advertise afresh so that other companies, not one company, other companies, three, four, five, six, 10 companies can apply because the resource we have in Magadi is big enough to sustain more than one company,” said Dr Ruto.
“We are going to make sure this time round the contract is going to be firm on ensuring that value addition of our minerals, of the resource in Magadi, is not going to be done abroad. Value addition is going to be done here in Kenya.”
It was not immediately clear whether Tata Chemicals would be among the companies allowed to bid for the fresh contract.
Dr Ruto added that a glass and chemical factory would be established in the country to provide job opportunities for Kenyans.
Further, the Head of State said 70 per cent of the 24,000 acres currently occupied by Tata Chemicals under a lease arrangement would revert to the local community.
“We are going to make sure that no company will occupy 24,000 acres of Kajiado land. They are going to occupy maybe 20, maybe a maximum of 30 per cent. At least 70 per cent of that land will come back to the people of Kajiado County so that we can use other resources and use it for other purposes,” he added.
He castigated the Opposition for criticising him over the closure of Tata Chemicals, terming its members puppets of an unnamed sponsor who, he said, lacked clarity on issues affecting Kenyans.
On Friday, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) allies, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Linda Mwananchi leader Senator Edwin Sifuna, castigated President Ruto, accusing him of scaring away investors for his personal interests.
“I have heard ‘Linda Sponsor’ (the opposition) fighting me. You have no clarity on anything. Don't tell us about the rule of law. There is no rule of law that sustains extractive, exploitative cultures that undermine the interests of the nation, the interests of the people of Kenya, or the interests of the people of Kajiado,” roared President Ruto.
He said he would not be derailed in his efforts to achieve balanced bilateral trade, not only for Kenya but for Africa, a position he said he amplified during the G7 Summit.
“I said before world leaders that Africa is not going to continue with relationships where we are subservient to others. I said we are going to have a new relationship with Africa and our partners.
"A relationship of equals and sovereign equality. A relationship not about us borrowing from others but working with others so that we can raise domestic resources. A relationship based on investment, not exploitation, extraction or raw materials, but investment. That is what we are going to do in Magadi, inviting those who want to invest so that together we can grow,” he added.
On Saturday, the second day of President Ruto’s visit, accompanied by a host of broad-based politicians, he was scheduled to launch the construction of the Ngong-Kibiko-Kangeria Road, inspect the Nguruman Irrigation Scheme in Kajiado West Constituency, inspect the Mashuuru Modern Market, launch the construction of the 72-kilometre Imaroro-Mashuuru-Isara Road in Kajiado East Constituency, and conclude the tour with an inspection of the Kitengela Affordable Housing Project, Kitengela Municipality Africa Housing Project and Kitengela Modern Market in Kajiado East Constituency, where he was expected to address a mammoth crowd that had begun milling around as early as 8am, some coming from Nairobi informal settlements.
On Monday, he is scheduled to visit several projects in the vote-rich Kajiado North Constituency.
Tata Chemicals, formerly Magadi Soda, is among the country’s largest mining employers and the largest producer of soda ash in Africa. It is also one of Kenya’s largest single exporters, contributing approximately six per cent of Kenya’s exports and generating nearly $100 million in foreign exchange earnings annually.
The President’s change of tone on Tata Chemicals’ woes came barely a day after the Principal Secretary for Industrialisation said Kenya remained an unequal partner to India in bilateral trade.
Dr Juma Mukhwana, Principal Secretary for Industrialisation, said in a statement that, while cognisant of the two countries’ historical and cultural ties, the Magadi soda ash operation could be a game changer for Kenya’s industrialisation.
He insisted that the future Kenya-India relationship ought to move beyond a seller-and-buyer arrangement to one of co-investors, co-manufacturers and co-exporters.
He claimed Kenya had been an underdog in bilateral trade over the years, according to official Indian trade figures, which indicate that bilateral merchandise trade reached approximately $4.31 billion in the 2025/26 financial year.
The figures, according to him, give India a head start, exporting approximately $4.01 billion worth of goods to Kenya while importing only about $290 million from Kenya.
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