Tata-Muya got two silver medals from the 1979 African Championshionships (400 m hurdles and 800 m). She is also a 400 m hurdles bronze medalist from the 1982 African Championships. In 1980 she took various events at the Commonwealth Games, the best result being 7th place with the Kenyan 4 × 400 m relay team. Her first global event were the inaugural world championships in 1983, where she did not get past 400 metres hurdles heats She was the only Kenyan woman athlete in Helsinki, and is thus the first Kenyan woman to compete at the world championships.