Two Killed After Prohibited Goldmine Collapses in Hillo, Moyale

At least two miners were killed after a goldmine they had ventured into collapsed in Hillo, Moyale, Marsabit County.

Police said the incident happened on Saturday August 17 after a group sneaked into gold mining holes at Hillo Walkiti Gold Mining Site at night.

One of the mining holes collapsed instantly killing two people.

Michael Omondi Ombuya, 39 and John Ogolla Ngeso a male adult aged 27 died on the spot.

Ombuya had traveled from his Nyatike sub-county in Migori County while Ngeso traveled from Awasi sub-county in Kisumu County to the area to look for a living when the incident happened.

Police said three other miners were rescued with serious injuries and rushed to the Moyale sub-county Hospital for treatment and the bodies were moved to the same facility awaiting autopsy.

This is the latest incident to happen at the goldmine site amid efforts to control illegal mining activities there.

Miners still venture there prompting a confrontation with authorities.

For instance, on July 19, two people including a police officer were shot and killed in a clash over the gold mining site.

The attackers stole a G3 rifle loaded with 20 bullets from the slain officer, police said.

The site is among those closed over safety issues but illegal miners keep invading there for a living.

The site has been a scene of drama between state agencies and miners who want to venture there for gold deposits.

It was closed for safety reasons.

The Hilo Gold mine, situated near the Kenya-Ethiopia border in Dabel, has been a focal point for gold mining activities, attracting numerous youths seeking to earn a living through gold scavenging.

However, due to safety and security concerns, the government ordered the closure of the mine on March 14, 2024.

Despite the closure some miners continued their operations illegally, leading to this unfortunate incident, police said.

It was closed by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki in March this year after deadly clashes between communities over mining rights.

The clashes left at least seven people dead.

Kindiki visited the area in March and ordered the closure of gold mining sites in Marsabit.

Kindiki flew to Dabel Artisinal Mining Sites within Golbo Division of Marsabit County and announced measures to arrest the escalation of violence and other criminal activities in the area.

The area had been rife with armed criminals facilitating trade in narcotic drugs, while seven people including two aliens were killed this week in gang rivalries among the illegal artisan miners on site.

Cases of rape, defilement and gender-based violence have been booked, Kindiki said.

Most of the gold mines have been found to be unsafe. They have caused dozens of deaths.

The directive by Kindiki which also banned unlicenced commercial mining, came just a week after two people died following another collapse.

“To ensure regularised artisanal mining that meets public safety and environmental standards, the Government has banned all artisanal mining activities as well as unlicenced commercial mining,” he said.

The area is among those with gold deposits and hence attracts residents who venture there to make a living.

The machineries make the sites weak and unsafe for the miners, according to officials.

To deal with some of these challenges, the government has also directed that those involved in mining activities to stop operations for the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to conduct an environmental impact assessment to give the ecological guidelines before mining operations can resume.

Nema officials were directed to carry out the environmental impact assessment and give reports at the sites as part of efforts to address the safety measures.

The gold miners are also ordered to seek licenses from all the relevant government authorities before embarking on the work.

They have been told to stop using heavy machinery at the sites.

These machineries make the sites weak and unsafe for the miners.

The majority of the gold mining activities are done by small and medium enterprise miners who have been exposed to unsafe practices in the mining extraction processes.

Those engaged in extracting the precious mineral have always defied government bans on mining, especially during rainy seasons arguing that it is the only activity in the region that enables them to put food on the table.