Residents of the Naduat gold mines in Turkana County told the National Gender and Equality Commission that collapsing mines have buried tens of miners alive, with no rescue, recovery or formal record.
The delegation, led by the Chairperson, Hon. Rehema Jaldesa, heard the accounts on Tuesday 6 October 2026, when it stopped at the mines on its way from Lodwar to Kakuma. Residents said the miners perished without a trace, and that their deaths were not formally reported.
BEYOND STATE REACH
Residents told the Commission that the national government has no administrative representation at the site, with no chief or assistant chief serving the community, and that security, health and civil registration services are out of their reach. In the absence of government administration, they said, they run their own rudimentary systems of order, parallel to those of the State. The Commission heard that these arrangements carry consequences for justice and leave girls, women and children particularly exposed to abuse and discrimination.
The Commission raised the situation with the Deputy County Commissioner for Turkana West, Mr John K. Oroche, in Kakuma later the same day. He acknowledged the conditions the residents had described. The Chairperson addressed a press briefing at the site.
A RECORD OF COLLAPSES
Naduat has a history of fatal collapses. In November 2024, a shaft caved in on six miners at the site in Lomeguro village, claiming three lives. County Commissioner Julius Kavita led the response, and the County Government undertook to map all mining sites in Turkana and introduce safety guidelines. On 14 August 2026, another collapse trapped six miners underground.
In December 2023, the County Government raised concern over the use of explosives and dangerous chemicals at the site. In May 2024, the Mining Principal Secretary, Mr Elijah Mwangi, directed that only licensed miners would be permitted to operate at Naduat. Hundreds of artisanal miners, among them women, work in narrow and unstable shafts at Naduat and nearby sites, which are also the subject of a dispute over mining licences.
Mining had featured among the concerns the County Government raised with the Commission during its courtesy call on Monday. The Commission’s mandate covers the protection of special interest groups, including women and children, from discrimination, and equal access to public services for all persons in Kenya.
