KAJIADO, Kenya- President William Ruto has pledged to return 90 per cent of the 240,000 acres he said were unjustly appropriated from the local community by colonial authorities for Magadi soda mining.
The pledge would see about 216,000 acres returned to the community, as the government accelerates the issuance of title deeds to residents in the Magadi area.
Ruto said the move was part of efforts to ensure that communities benefit directly from natural resources found on their land.
“Our priority is to ensure that the people of Magadi benefit meaningfully from the resources in their land and that investors operate responsibly and contribute to the local economy,” the President said.
The announcement comes days after Ruto ordered Tata Chemicals Magadi to leave Kenya, accusing the company of extracting resources from Lake Magadi without delivering sufficient economic benefits to Kajiado residents.
Ruto said the government would open the Magadi mineral resource to fresh investment while requiring future investors to undertake value addition locally.
The President also announced measures to address immediate concerns facing residents of Magadi.
He said the Ministry of Water would restore water supply to the area by next week, while the Kajiado County Government would take over operations of the local hospital in Magadi Town.
The move is intended to ensure continuity of healthcare services for residents following the changes around the mining operations.
Sh500 million Nguruman irrigation project
During his Kajiado development tour, Ruto also launched the rehabilitation of the Nguruman Block A Irrigation Project, a government investment valued at Sh500 million.
The project is expected to put 2,000 acres of land under irrigation, increasing agricultural production and improving the livelihoods of farmers in the area.
The investment forms part of the government’s wider push to expand irrigation and reduce reliance on rain-fed agriculture.
The national irrigation programme targets increasing irrigated land substantially by 2027/28.
Ruto has repeatedly linked irrigation expansion to the government’s food security agenda, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas.
The government has also been implementing other irrigation projects in Kajiado. On Thursday, Ruto commissioned the expansion of the Rombo Clusters (Kisioki) Irrigation Development Project, a Sh221 million project that increased irrigated land across four schemes from 2,983 acres to 5,500 acres.
The President’s latest announcements come as his administration seeks to reposition Kajiado’s natural resources and agricultural potential as drivers of local economic development.
The government says future investment in Magadi will prioritise local employment, processing and manufacturing so that a greater share of the value generated from the area’s resources remains in Kenya.
