Kajiado County on Wednesday, stormed and shut down the Tata Chemicals Mining company depot located in Magadi after accusing it of accruing over Ksh10 billion in land rates.
In a statement released by the county, the mining company failed to pay the fees for the last five years.
A team of officers drawn from the Inspectorate and Revenue officers raided the depot, closed the gate and later on blocked the railway line that leads to the facility.
While announcing the closure of the firm, the county government stated that efforts to arbitrate the row were met with unresponsiveness from the company resulting in the forced eviction.
Among the arbitration measures taken by the county was seeking legal redress in court.
“Tata Chemicals officers boycotted the arbitration process sittings midwifed by the then Ministry of Mining and Petroleum, read the statement by the County government.
“The row over the arrears has been simmering since 2018 and efforts to get the arrears paid over the years have severally hit a snag including a failed arbitration process directed by the Kajiado High Court in 2021,” the county stated.
In its response, the company through its CEO, noted that it was committed to having the dispute solved through the national government.
Among the issues it wants to be solved is the renewal of its lease as the county reportedly declined to approve its applications.
The long-standing row between the county and the company can be traced back to 2019 when Kajiado County Governor, Joseph Ole Lenku, mobilised 3,000 community members to protest at the factory leading to its closure.
Tata Chemicals Limited, which is the largest soda ash mining company in Africa was established in 1911 and has since been mining soda ash in Magadi.
