Nairobi: In a blow to the Tata Group, Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited (TCML) to halt operations and exit the country.
The Indian multinational has been accused of failing to benefit the local economy despite operating in the region for decades.
The bone of contention involves a number of core compliance and economic issues, the primary of those being lack of value addition and local manufacturing, News18 reported.
President Ruto was extremely critical of the company for merely extracting and exporting raw soda ash rather than building downstream manufacturing capacity.
Despite holding long-term mining rights, Tata had not built local infrastructure like glass or chemical manufacturing factories in Kajiado County, the President noted. He informed that the Kenyan government plans to bring in two new companies to establish local glass and chemical manufacturing to create jobs for Kenyan citizens.
A July 28 directive by Kenya’s Mining ministry had already suspended the company’s mining operations and soda ash exports, citing unpaid and unreconciled royalty payments, inaccurate export reporting, non-compliance with environmental laws, deficiencies in community development agreements and local procurement.
According to reports, the company has been in a feud with Kajiado County government over a $170 million tax demand for unpaid land rates.
Local authorities have demanded the full legal payment, while Tata Chemicals Magadi pointed to its extensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects like water provisioning, subsidised rail transit, and school fees as an alternative contribution.
Tata Chemicals says fully compliant
Tata Chemicals has maintained that it is fully compliant with all applicable regulations.
The company said it submitted comprehensive documentation addressing the Kenyan Mining ministry’s concerns and remains committed to constructive, legal engagements to resolve the impasse while prioritising the well-being of its 500 local employees and contractors.
“We wish to reiterate, that on August 11, 2026, Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited submitted all the required information, reports and documentation and TCML is fully compliant with the regulatory requirements,” the company stated.
TCML acquired the British-founded operation in 2005.