![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/55a87a90-6056-46a6-836f-a0f2c169f62c.jpeg\")
Mining CS
\nHassan Joho addresses the media at the Kenya School of Government in Matuga
\nSub- County on Friday, January 9, 2026.<\/p>\n
Mining CS
\nHassan Joho addresses the media at the Kenya School of Government in Matuga
\nSub- County on Friday, January 9, 2026.<\/p>\n
A standoff is brewing in Kwale county over the
\nproposed mining of rare earth minerals at Mrima Hill, with county leaders and
\nthe national government now publicly trading blows over consultation,
\ntransparency and control.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fault lines were laid bare on Friday, when Kwale Deputy
\nGovernor Chirema Kombo, accompanied by MCAs, dramatically walked out of a
\nmeeting chaired by Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho at the Kenya School of
\nGovernment in Matuga.<\/p>\n
Mrima Hill, in Lunga Lunga subcounty, has rare earth minerals
\nbelieved to be worth billions of shillings, making it one of the most sensitive
\nresource projects in the country.<\/p>\n
The meeting had initially proceeded without incident.<\/p>\n
However, tension escalated when local leaders demanded clarity on
\nthe procedures, transparency and planned activities surrounding the proposed mining.<\/p>\n
Kombo accused the Ministry of Mining of sidelining the county
\ngovernment and pushing decisions without adequate consultation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of this meeting was consultation, but unfortunately,
\nmany of these discussions are being conducted by the local administration with
\nthe ministry in the absence of the county government and the communities,\u201d he
\nsaid after storming out.<\/p>\n
He claimed leaders seeking accountability were being silenced and,
\nin some cases, threatened, insisting that the county government has a
\nconstitutional duty to protect the interests of its people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not in a colonial government but a democratic one. If
\nthe views of local leaders are not welcome, then it is better to walk out,\u201d
\nKombo said, warning that Kwale would not allow a repeat of past mining
\nexperiences that left communities displaced and impoverished.<\/p>\n
Kombo further alleged that vested interests were pushing for forced
\nexploitation of Mrima Hill, vowing that the county would resist any process
\nthat sidelines residents or violates the rule of law.<\/p>\n
Vanga MCA Yusuf Mbwana and Pongwe\u2013Kikoneni MCA Omar Mwaduga
\nbacked the deputy governor\u2019s concerns, accusing the ministry of holding
\nmeetings without the governor, MCAs or area leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese meetings do not reflect the needs of the community and
\nwhen we ask questions, the environment becomes hostile,\u201d Mwaduga said.<\/p>\n
Mbwana clarified that leaders were not opposed to mining, but
\nrather demanded openness and tangible benefits for locals, including value
\naddition at the source.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want our minerals extracted recklessly while our
\npeople continue to suffer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Joho, however, dismissed the allegations, insisting that the
\nministry is following due process and that no decisions have been made on Mrima
\nHill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have not given out Mrima Hill to anyone. In fact, nobody
\neven knows what minerals are there or their value. People are just
\nspeculating,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Joho urged leaders to engage constructively rather than politicise
\nthe project, describing Mrima Hill as a national undertaking that, if properly
\nmanaged, could benefit thousands and boost the economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrima Hill is of national strategic importance, hosting
\nminerals that are critical for modern infrastructure and energy transition. Our
\nobligation as the national government is to ensure these resources are
\nextracted safely, transparently and sustainably for the long-term prosperity of
\nKwale and the country as a whole,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Joho said his assurance to the Kwale leadership is that the
\nMinistry is committed to transparency and accountability throughout the
\nproject’s development process.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrima Hill will be the first mining project in Kenya to be
\nsubjected to an open and competitive tendering process, setting a new benchmark
\nfor accountability in the sector,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mining Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai backed Joho\u2019s position,
\nannouncing plans for structured, separate engagements with county leadership,
\nthe county assembly, MPs and other partners to chart the way forward.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani convened a
\nconsultative forum with residents and leaders at Mrima Polytechnic in Lunga
\nLunga, assuring locals that no mining would proceed without their consent.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs your governor, I cannot make any decision regarding mining
\non my own without the people deciding,\u201d Achani said, warning against any
\nparallel meetings held without the involvement of residents.<\/p>\n
She said there are currently no active plans to mine Mrima Hills
\nand that structured consultations involving both levels of government and the
\ncommunity would guide any future decisions.<\/p>\n
Lunga Lunga MP Mangale Chiforomodo called for unity and calm,
\nurging residents not to allow ethnic divisions to derail efforts to find a
\nlasting solution.<\/p>\n
INSTANT ANALYSIS<\/p>\n
The Mrima Hill standoff exposes deeper tensions between national
\nauthority and devolved governance over control of natural resources. While the
\nnational government frames the project as a strategic economic asset requiring
\npatience and technical assessment, Kwale leaders view the process through the
\nlens of historical exploitation, exclusion, and community harm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mining CS
Hassan Joho addresses the media at the Kenya School of Government in Matuga
Sub- County on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18255,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[80,351,352,98,100,353,101,350,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-18254","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-kenya","9":"tag-kenya-news","10":"tag-star","11":"tag-star-news","12":"tag-star-news-kenya","13":"tag-star-newspaper-kenya","14":"tag-the-star","15":"tag-the-star-kenya","16":"tag-the-star-newspaper"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}