Global race for rare earths comes to Kenya's Mrima Hill

An aerial view of a section of the Mrima Hill Forest in Lunga-Lunga, Kwale county on September 26, 2025. [AFP]

Division and suspicion have gripped five villages near Kenya's coast as global powers from the United States to China eye a forest that is rich in rare earths -- minerals vital to high-tech and low-carbon industries.

The US government under President Donald Trump has made securing critical minerals central to its diplomacy in Africa, including through a peace deal in the resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo this year.