Blow to Ruto's mining reforms as new regulations declared illegal
Courts
By
Nancy Gitonga
| Sep 18, 2025
President William Ruto’s ambitious plan to reform the mining sector has suffered a major setback after the High Court declared the 2024 Mining Regulations illegal and unenforceable for lack of meaningful public participation.
The regulations, which sought to overhaul licensing, royalties, gemstone trade and mineral services, were quashed by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, who ruled that the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs had failed to meet the threshold of public involvement as required under Articles 10 and 118 of the Constitution.
“While the Ministry of Mining’s execution of its constitutional obligation to facilitate public participation was flawed, and ultimately fell short of the constitutional threshold, there is evidence that an attempt, albeit inadequate, was made to comply,” Justice Mwamuye said.
“What the law requires is meaningful, not uniform participation, tailored to context, but compliant with constitutional standards,” he added.
The court’s judgment now potentially denies the government billions of shillings in anticipated revenue from royalties, licenses, and mineral taxes, forcing a return to the previous legal regime. The contested regulations formed the backbone of President Ruto’s plan to modernise the mining industry, tighten oversight and increase state earnings from mineral wealth.
Among the most contentious proposals was a nine-fold increase in licensing fees for large-scale prospectors and miners, from Sh50,000 to Sh500,000 for some minerals, to discourage speculators and free up space for deep-pocket investors.
The government also introduced new royalty rates ranging from one per cent of gross sales for cut gemstones to eight per cent for rare earth minerals.
Coal was to be charged at seven per cent, rough gemstones at six per cent, while metallic ores such as copper, zinc, aluminium, and manganese would attract five per cent. Cement and salt were set at 1.6 per cent, with clinker at two per cent.
The reforms were challenged in court by the Kenya Chamber of Mines (KCM), which filed a petition on October 9, 2024. The industry lobby, representing miners, prospectors, dealers, suppliers, and professionals, described the regulations as “egregious and discriminatory.”
KCM chairman Dr Patrick Kanyoro told the court that the ministry, through its CS Hassan Joho, had already signed the regulations on January 23, 2024, a full week before inviting the public to submit comments.
“To their utter dismay, the Respondent had already enacted the said regulations on January 23, 2024, seven days before inviting members of the public for comments on the regulations,” the petitioners informed the judge.
Dr Kanyoro said the Chamber submitted a detailed 51-page memorandum outlining the “calamitous impact” of the rules, but their views were ignored.