Zadock Amanyisa | Tayari News
BUSHENYI – Shock, numbness, pain, and anger described the mood in Kayanga, Kyamuhunga town council, Bushenyi district, on Tuesday, February 24th, after five residents died in a gold mine collapse.
The incident left the Kyamuhunga community united in grief and urgent need for answers, especially on how much the community is losing and gaining in the artisanal mining activities that have been ongoing for decades.
Police identified the dead as Saul Nuwamanya, 32, Julius Mujurizi,45, Stuart Akanyamba, 16, Anthony Mugabe, 20 and Sansio Twijukye, 32, all of whom have been deriving a livelihood from small-scale gold mining.
Intense shock, fear, and confusion filled Lauben Gumisiriza, a survivor of the accident, who had moved out of the pit to deliver the sand beloved to contain some pieces of gold.
“Normally, when we work until around 3 pm, when we retire for the day, our boss leaves us with a few basins of soil so we can pick some samples and sell them to earn money. I had moved to drop a round and come back, only to find my colleagues fighting for their lives. I helplessly watched them breathe their last.” He recounted
Robert Mugabe, a resident of Kayanga, lost his son, Anthony Mugabe, in the accident. He had spent two months working in the mine.
“I had returned from Ishaka town when I saw a crowd of people near the road, and I was told that a mine collapsed and killed miners on the spot. My son, who has been working there, was among them.
Mugabe mourned in disbelief as residents, relatives, friends and locals wept in front of the bodies of their beloved ones, whose bodies were laid on a tarpaulin. The victims left their homes, hoping to earn a little extra money for themselves and their families.
The Western part of Bushenyi has historically been known for gold mining. But in recent years, informal gold mining has expanded as the reserves have been depleted, according to the locals.
Mining sites normally pop up anywhere the residents find deposits in land laden with riches in the tea gardens near Kalinzu forest.
Gerald Mukunde, a resident and artisanal miner, told this publication that the accident was caused by the rain that softened the soil around the makeshift pit that collapsed on the victims.
“We have been getting our survival from this area even when we know that the activities involve paying high costs and risks. For us, what has been mattering for a long time is the attractive extra cash,” he said
The victims were younger people full of energy and hope for a better and promising future. Their death leaves pain in the hearts of their loved ones.
The Katura parish councillor, Nuwe Sula, said the collapse of tea prices pushed several younger people into the risky but attractive informal gold hunt.
“Many people who used to depend on tea uprooted their plants and went into mining, convinced to do better in mining and with this business, miners have to keep digging deeper with the hope of getting more, sometimes exposing people to such incidents.” He told this publication
He accused the government of allowing foreigners to mine in their area with better mining technology and leaving the locals using rudimentary methods.
“The Chinese come here, use machines to get gold and leave as our people die in accidents. How does the government allow this to continue?” he asked.
In 2020, a 23-year-old Gaston Gumisiriza, a resident of Karimunyari in Kyamuhunga Sub-county, died in a gold mine.
According to the Bushenyi district Chaiperson, Jafari Basajjabalaba, there is a need for improved methods of extracting gold.
“Such incidents are not happening for the first time. People have been dying, but we should not let this keep happening. We need improved mining technology and safety for the local people. We call upon the central government and partners to come here and sensitise the population on safe mining.”
The Resident District Commissioner, Donanto Williams Kasigazi and the district police commander, Felix Mugizi, suspended artisanal mining activities in the area as investigations into the matter continue.
“We have found that there are more sites prone to accidents. So, we have agreed with the people here that artisanal mining is halted for some days as we study the situation,” he stated