Respiratory problems, hearing loss and death- the cost of gold prospecting in Migori

It is eight in the morning and the flickering rays of the sun can be seen rising from the eastern horizon casting its glimmers towards Kitere village in Migori County.

This is another promising day for a group of men and women heading to the goldmines where they eke out a daily livelihood. Every day, they wake up looking forward to a promising day. The treasure beneath their land gives them hope. In Kitere, life is a routine for those exploring for gold.

Gold miners come out from one of the tunnel in Nyatike Sub-County on January 11, 2022. [Caleb Kingwara, Standard ]

In this quiet village, many of the locals depend on the goldfields. Gold exploring and mining seem to be the mainstay activity where the artisans face challenges in search of the precious mineral.

One would be mistaken to think that it is always an easy ride prospecting. It is a tough and disappointing task. Many times miners returned home empty-handed. Once in a while, however, they strike the gold though in tiny particles. But this search for wealth underneath is exposing them to health challenges.

Lucky are the few artisans who have no injuries or breathing complications. Daily, the miners are left vulnerable as a result of staying for long hours holed up in the gold shafts where lighting is dim with little oxygen.

Despite these hazards coupled with lurking death, the artisans wake up every day optimistic that one day lady luck will smile on them.

Pamela Adhiambo is one of the artisans who has been hoping to kiss poverty goodbye. She has been exploring for the last three decades but has not hit the jackpot. The failure to strike it lucky hasn’t damped her spirit.

Before venturing into the hunt for gold, Adhiambo used to entertain guests during major events and music festivals held in the area.

“I used to have a good voice but when I lost my job life was no longer the same again that is how I ended up joining the gold artisans,” says the woman.

Evidently, the mining activity has taken a toll on her health. Adhiambo looks frail. The mother of three attributes her difficulty in breathing to dusty particles inside the tunnels. She has since lost her soothing voice that once kept her fans on their toes.

According to her peers, her melodies melted hearts whenever the budding singer opened her mouth.

Hostile shafts

Adhiambo always received standing ovations for her performance.  But that is now in the past. She is a pale shadow of her former self as she ventures into the hostile shafts that are contributing to her current husky voice.

“Dust particles became rampant in the gold mines and I began experiencing complications in my chest,” she says.

The 53-year-old widow further delves into her deteriorating health condition saying: “I developed a strong dust allergy which forced me to seek medication in one of the hospitals in Nairobi.”

Adhiambo has a prescription of allergic drugs that she must take every day the cost notwithstanding.

Several miners exhibit similar symptoms. And medics in the area are getting alarmed by the situation they describe as worsening.

According to Job Odero, a medic at Kitere health centre, in a week, the facility admits between six to 10 patients from the gold mines complaining of respiratory problems.

“They normally complain of chest problems, skin injuries and rushes which are the side effects of mercury they use in the exploitation process,” says Odero.

Odero discloses that some of the artisans are experiencing hearing difficulties as a result of the noise produced by the mining machines.

Nancy Ochieng, a miner too, hopes that authorities will hear they cries and put in place measures that safeguard them from danger.

“Gold miners should have protective gear such as gumboots, gloves, nose masks and seek government license and advice from geological experts so they can use relevant machines for mining,” she says.

Joseph Ochieng, an elder, bemoaned the curse that is the goldfields in Kitere village where at least 10 artisans have died inside the shafts with several others sustaining serious injuries.  

“Despite the fatal cases reported, some school-going children still sneak out of school in order to carry out this life-threatening activity with the aim of making pocket money,” says mzee Ochieng.

But according to area chief Joseph Nyamanga, no learner is allowed to venture into the gold mines.

“The gold mines are out of bound for persons under the age of 18 and parents should take full control of their children so that they can have a good future,” Nyamanga says.

Regulate business

After assuming office, Migori Governor Ochillo Ayacko promised to reach out to various mineral prospecting and drilling companies, both local and international, to formalise and regulate the business.  

“This will attract more foreign investors, hence more income and employment opportunities for the residents of Migori County,” said Ayacko.

In 2022, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) temporarily closed a gold leaching site in Migori town after pollution complaints were raised by residents.

The authority said it had started investigations after Namba estate residents demonstrated along the Migori-Kehancha road over pollution. Residents said since a private company started leaching gold in the area, the water table in wells have dropped.

Early this month, incited locals disrupted construction the Rongo-Kisii Road following speculations that some of the earth scoped contained gold particles.

Hundreds of locals from North Sakwa halted construction works as they scrambled for what they believed to be gold. The contractor was forced to stop working on the road as locals carted away tons of soil.

One of the workers told journalists they were forced to call the police to intervene after the locals made their work difficult.

Some of the locals protesting against police action expressed their pleasure, insisting that they should be allowed to sieve gold from the soil waste.

In 2022, two miners died on the spot after the walls of a mining shaft collapsed at the Kakula gold mine in Mikeyi.

Two other miners survived the incident and were rushed for treatment at Migori Level Four Hospital. Eleven miners underneath were underneath when the shaft collapsed