Ruto opens Magadi minerals to fresh investors, vows to end raw exports

President William Ruto in Magadi, Kajiado, on September 6, 2026/PCS ‎

President William Ruto has ordered a fresh tender for mineral exploitation in Magadi, Kajiado County, opening the resource to multiple investors and requiring them to process the minerals locally.

‎Ruto said the move was aimed at ending what he described as nearly a century of exploitative extraction in the area, while ensuring that minerals from Magadi generate jobs, industries and wealth for Kenyans.

‎The President said the new tender would not be limited to a single company, arguing that the mineral resources in Magadi were sufficient to support several investors.

‎“We are going to advertise afresh so that other companies, not one company, other companies, five, six, 10 companies, can apply because the resource we have in Magadi is big enough to sustain more than one company,” Ruto said.