THREE KILLED AND EIGHT INJURED OVER HILO GOLD MINE OWNERSHIP DISPUTE.
Questions started to surface about why the industries that have employed thousands of young people remained unregulated, putting the lives of the miners in danger by having them work until late at night.
In a conflict between parties for ownership of a gold mining site in Marsabit County, at least three persons were killed and eight injured.
Scavenging for gold for a living has drawn a large number of young people to several locations, including the Orofani Hilo gold mine near Kenya-Ethiopia.
Parties vying for control of the locations without assistance from the local government have become tense as a result of this.
The locations have gold reserves that yield millions of shillings in gold each year, according to officials. Following processing, the minerals are sold.
Authorities have been urged to step in and resolve the skirmishes that have been occurring on Sunday and Monday since they are the most recent in a string that has impacted the local locations.
Authorities reported that the unrest started after some miners discovered a shallow burial nearby and, upon digging it up, discovered the remains of one of their missing colleagues.
Police say this made one gang go after another group of nearby miners, claiming they were the ones who killed the one whose body was discovered buried in the shallow grave.
Police claim that eight additional miners suffered severe injuries throughout the operation, and two miners were stoned to death.
Questions started to surface about why the industries that have employed thousands of young people remained unregulated, putting the lives of the miners in danger by having them work until late at night.
A ban on illegal mining operations in the area was imposed immediately by the authorities.
This was for an environmental audit, to name one use case.
This came to light after it was discovered that the miners were conducting their artisanal business while ignoring the environmental effects of their heavy machinery stone crushing.
To provide ecological standards for mining operations, officials ordered all parties participating in the activity to cease mining while the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) conducted an environmental impact study.
It was instructed that before beginning operations, gold miners get licenses from all pertinent government agencies.
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