Miners at the collapsed gold mine in Ikolomani, Kakamega. [Robert Amalemba, Standard]Five people have died after the walls of a gold mine collapsed on them in Bushiagala in Ikolomani Sub-county, Kakamega. In March last year, Kakamega deputy governor Philip Kutima had ordered all gold mines in the county shut for being a weak link for the spread of the coronavirus. According to research done by the Alliance for Responsible Mining in Kenya, artisanal and small-scale mining continues to remain a significant source of employment for Kenyans. “About 146,000 people were working in small-scale mining by 2012 in Kenya as Large-scale mining (LSM) companies employ about 9,000 workers,” said the report published in 2018.

Source: Standard Digital May 06, 2021 17:56 UTC