Multi‐wavelength stopped‐flow spectrophotometry was used to study the kinetics of base hydrolysis of the octahedral cobalt(III) complex CoLCl2+ (2), in which the tetrapodal pentadentate ligand L has an NN4 donor set and forms a square‐pyramidal coordination cap [L = 2,6‐bis(1′,3′‐diamino‐2′‐methylprop‐2′‐yl)pyridine, 1]. The kinetic investigation, carried out at different temperatures, pressures and ionic strengths I, led to second‐order kinetics, rate = kOH [2][OH−], with kOH = 0.139 ± 0.001 M−1s−1 (I = 0.1 M) and kOH = 0.0570 ± 0.0004 M−1s−1 (I = 1.0 M) at 298 K. The temperature and pressure dependence of kOH resulted in ΔH‡ = 119 ± 3 kJmol−1 (I = 0.1 M) and ΔH‡ = 123 ± 3 kJmol−1 (I = 1.0 M), ΔS‡ = + 130 ± 13 Jmol−1K−1 (I = 0.1 M) and ΔS‡ = + 151 ± 15 Jmol−1K−1 (I = 1.0 M) and ΔV‡ = + 27.6 ± 0.6 cm3mol−1 (I = 1.0 M). The kinetic results support the operation of the conjugate base mechanism, Dcb, with intermediate deprotonation occuring cis to the leaving chloride ion. The observed inertness of complex 2 towards base hydrolysis is discussed on the basis of the special structural features of the ligand L. The pKa of the coordinated water in the aqua species CoL(H2O)3+(3) was determined to be pKa = 6.0 ± 0.1 at I = 0.1 M. The X‐ray crystal structure analysis of the hydroxo complex [CoL(OH)](ClO4)2 (4) shows a mononuclear terminal (hydroxo)CoIII complex, in which the ligand provides a regular square‐pyramidal NN4 donor cap for the octahedrally six‐coordinate CoIII ion [4, monoclinic, space group C2/m, a = 16.841(6) Å, b = 8.541(3) Å, c = 15.112(5) Å, β = 109.13(1)°, Z = 4]. Coordination of L is accompanied by the formation of 6 six‐membered chelate rings, all of which adopt a boat conformation. In the crystal lattice, pairs of cations are associated via four (hydroxo)O···H–N(primary amine) hydrogen bonds and related through an inversion center. Full spectroscopic data for 4 (1H‐, 13C‐NMR, IR, MS) are presented.