Kenya Moves to Release Mineral Royalty Payouts to 32 Counties

Kenya · Mining

After a decade in the Treasury’s vaults, royalty money owed to mining counties is finally moving — though communities say their cut is still too small.

For nearly ten years, royalties from Kenya’s mines piled up in a government account while the counties that host the mining waited. That is now changing: the government has moved to release Sh2.9 billion (about US$22.4 million) in mineral royalties, with 32 counties due a share. It is a long-delayed payout — and, for the communities living next to the pits, a partial one.

A decade-long wait

The money has sat in the Consolidated Fund since 2016, collected from mining but never passed on, because the rules governing how to share it were not finalised. That changed when the Mineral Royalty Sharing Regulations were gazetted on 29 January 2026 as Legal Notice 3 of 2026, giving the Treasury the legal basis to move the funds to the 32 counties entitled to them.

Officials have framed the money as being unlocked and moving to the counties, rather than confirmed as landed in county accounts — a distinction worth keeping, given how long the process has already taken. Parliament’s committee on delegated legislation only endorsed the rules in April 2026.

Who gets what

Kwale County is the standout. Home to the mineral-sands operation formerly run by Base Titanium — whose Kenyan mining licence expired on 30 June 2026 — Kwale is set to receive more than Sh1.38 billion (about US$10.7 million), by far the largest single allocation. The remaining counties share the balance according to where mining took place.

The 2026 regulations fix the sharing formula at 70% for the national government, 20% for the county and 10% for the host community. That 10% community share is itself an increase — up from just 2% previously — and it is the part of the reform that host communities fought for.

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A dispute that isn’t over

The formula has not been universally welcomed. Host communities and some members of Parliament have contested the split, arguing that 10% is too little and that the community share should be paid directly rather than routed through county governments they do not always trust. In short, releasing the money settles one grievance while sharpening another.

The episode matters beyond Kenya’s coast. Resource-rich counties across Africa are watching how revenue from mining is shared with the places that bear its costs. Kenya’s answer — a decade late, with a bigger-but-still-modest community cut — is the kind of compromise other governments will study.

Sources

• Daily Nation
• Eastleigh Voice
• Kenyans.co.ke
• Business Daily

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