One person has been confirmed dead and scores of others are feared trapped after a gold mine collapsed at Kambi Karaya in West Pokot County on Sunday evening.
The incident comes barely a week after a similar tragedy in Karon village, Turkwel, where four people died and five others were injured following another gold mine collapse.
Just days earlier, six miners had also perished in a separate incident in the same region, raising alarm over the rapid rise in illegal mining activities.
Reports indicated that the miners had returned to the site at night using picks and hoes, unaware that the soil had become loose after excavators had dug the pit during the day.
Local authorities, led by the police and emergency response teams, are currently conducting rescue operations amid growing concerns over the frequency and scale of such accidents in West Pokot.
In response, the government has announced fresh measures to curb unregulated mining. The State Department of Mining has established a new county-level office in West Pokot to enhance oversight, licensing, and compliance enforcement.
“Previously, we had regional mining offices. Going forward, we’ve restructured them into county mining offices to better serve the people,” said David Onyancha, a senior mining official.
West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin echoed the government’s efforts, noting, “As a county, we are setting up frameworks to ensure that our people can safely exploit these minerals. This is a county of hidden treasures—but they must be harnessed safely.”
The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) on Monday last week halted all mining activities within the Kambi Karai and Lami Nyeusi regions along the River Turkwel in Sigor Constituency.
According to NEMA, the closure was necessitated by the numerous complaints it has been receiving on the illicit mining points along the River Turkwel in Turkana County and West Pokot County.
Despite the area having over 200 gold mining sites, the sites were found to be operating without Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licences, leaving deep holes and dirty waters along the river, making it unsuitable for domestic consumption.
"NEMA has today directed mining activities within the Kambi Karai and Lami Nyeusi region along River Turkwel in Sigor Constituency to stop further operations due to their negative environmental impacts," NEMA confirmed.
