Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited has warned that the continued suspension of its mining operations could force it to lay off about 500 employees and derail a Sh3.62 billion expansion project as it fights to overturn the shutdown.
In court papers opposing Kajiado County’s application to halt the proceedings, the soda ash producer says the suspension threatens its ability to meet contractual obligations and puts more than 1,100 livelihoods at risk.
The company says it directly employs over 500 people, while another 600 work through contractors. “The applicant will continue to be unable to meet its contractual obligations, thereby exposing it to significant and potentially irreparable losses,” the company states.
At the centre of the dispute is a decision by the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs to suspend the company’s operations over alleged regulatory breaches.
Tata Chemicals argues that the ministry acted without adequate notice or adherence to fair administrative procedures. It further claims the suspension has no clear end date, measurable compliance requirements or transparent process for allowing operations to resume.
According to the company, this uncertainty leaves its operations entirely at the ministry’s discretion and threatens a business built over nearly a century. The company says any delay in determining its challenge would deepen its financial exposure and jeopardise the planned Sh3.62 billion expansion.
Tata Chemicals is also opposing Kajiado County’s bid to join the judicial review proceedings, arguing that the county’s concerns over land rates, lease expiry, land tenure and royalties belong in separate cases. It maintains that the court should focus on whether the ministry acted lawfully when it suspended operations.
Kajiado County, however, argues that the outcome could directly affect its revenue, environmental interests and the welfare of communities living around the mine. The county says outstanding land rates stood at Sh11.4 billion as of February 2023. It had sought to enforce payment by withholding business and trading licences, prompting Tata Chemicals to seek court intervention.
Separate proceedings over the land rates remain pending before the Court of Appeal.
The county maintains that its interest goes beyond revenue collection and includes environmental protection and the economic welfare of residents affected by the mining operations.
The ministry, meanwhile, has defended the shutdown as necessary to enforce statutory compliance. In court documents, Secretary of Mines Thomas Mutwiwa says the company had repeatedly been notified of alleged violations, including unpaid royalties and accumulated arrears.
