The National government has suspended all mining operations in Migori County and issued notices to both machine operators and artisanal miners to acquire legal licences.
In a joint crackdown conducted by Migori County Commissioner David Gitonga and Regional Mining Director Joseph Boiwo at Nyatike and Kuria Sub Counties, all miners with expired licences and those without were ordered to secure new ones and immediately shut down leaching processes.
The County Commissioner said that despite the law’s requirement to have all mining activities regulated according to the Constitution, the majority of miners were still operating illegally.
Gitonga stated that it was only through regulation that the government could generate revenue and secure the miners from exploitation by cartels.
“There are some miners and artisans that are operating illegally despite being informed to acquire necessary legal mining licences. We therefore saw it fit to conduct a raid on illegal mining to ensure compliance,” noted Gitonga.
A week ago, the government ordered the suspension of extracting gold deposits at the Komire barrow site, where the construction of the Kisii- Isebania highway is underway.
Rongo residents scrambled for the valuable stones along the highway after the discovery of the gold stones, halting road construction work.
Boiwo directed that only sites that had fully complied with the laid-down legal requirements would be allowed to continue with normal operations.
By Geoffrey Makokha
