A gold processing site in Ikolomani, Kakamega County, is counting losses after a night gang raided it and burnt machines worth millions.
The gangs raided the site at 9 p.m. armed with guns and injured four of the guards in the process.
According to one of the workers, the raid was propelled by a conflict of interest of some workers who were not allowed to work on the site.
“The issue is that there is a group opposed to the gold mining going on here while the others embrace it. Some of us had jobs here but right now, that’s not the case,” a worker lamented.
Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa gives an address during a public participation forum in Ikolomani sub-county, Kakamega County on October 6, 2023.
Photo
County Government of Kakamega
The miner explained that the gang, which consisted of youth, attacked the mine around two hours later beating up the miners and security guards before setting the machines on fire.
“Gangs raided us while we were working at 9 p.m. and burnt machines. They even burnt my motorcycle which was packed alongside the machines,” the worker continued.
The gang was armed with weapons and attacked the mine located in Shanta Village on the night of Tuesday.
The news of the raid came at a time when the National Government was eyeing a Ksh5.8 billion mining investment deal that would pave the way for establishing Kenya’s first modern gold refinery in Lidambitsa area of Ikolomani, Kakamega County.
In April, the then Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Mining Salim Mvurya argued that the Kakamega Gold Refinery is a game-changer for the gold sub-sector in Kenya.
The first-of-its-kind gold refinery is set to be operational by June next year.
The venture, which is being undertaken by a foreign investor, H-NUO Kenya Company, will benefit thousands of artisanal miners across the country who have been mining the valuable mineral manually with inherent dangers.
The government is also planning to construct a state-of-the-art mineral testing laboratory in Kakamega to bolster the efficiency and quality of mineral mining and value addition.
Mining, Maritime Affairs and Blue Economy CS Ali Hassan Joho
Hassan Joho
