Former Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has claimed that Britain's King Charles III intervened in the dispute over Tata Chemicals Magadi after hearing his protests against an alleged plan by President William Ruto's government to take over the company's land.

Speaking at a church service in Isinya, Kajiado County, on Sunday, Gachagua said his public protests reached the monarch, who he claimed questioned why the Kenyan government wanted to take over the property and then contacted Ruto to ask him to abandon the plan. He did not provide evidence of the alleged conversation, and the claim has not been independently confirmed.

The remarks come amid a long-running dispute between the government and Tata Chemicals Magadi over the company's mining operations at Lake Magadi, where it has extracted soda ash since 1911. President Ruto announced on 3 September that the company should leave Kenya, accusing it of mining for more than a century without making sufficient investments in Kajiado County or creating enough jobs for local people.

Tata Chemicals has disputed claims of non-compliance, saying it submitted the documents requested by the Ministry of Mining and was awaiting the government's response. The government later softened its stance, with Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho authorising a joint technical committee with the company in September to review outstanding compliance, royalty and land issues.

Gachagua, who leads the Democracy for the Citizens Party, has campaigned for the plant to reopen, arguing that residents should not bear the consequences of the dispute while negotiations continue.