Namayingo gold miners evicted over illegal activity

Hundreds of gold miners and traders, who had converged in Mpano ‘A’ Village, Namayingo Town Council, Namayingo District have been evicted by authorities, who deemed their activities “illegal.”

The Eastern Region Commandant of the Mineral Protection Unit of the police, Mr Cephas Wanjala, said the eviction started on Thursday last week following a directive by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. 

Mr Sharif Makokha, the Namayingo District deputy council speaker, said the notice to evict the group had come from the office of the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), giving them a 12-hour ultimatum to vacate.

“Last Thursday evening we received a communication of a planned eviction and by this (Friday) morning, police started pushing people out of the mine,” Mr Makokha said on Friday.

He added that the miners resisted eviction, arguing they had invested substantial amounts of money and called on the line minister, Phiona Nyamutoro, to address their concerns.

Ms Sarah Namugga, one of the gold miners, who claimed to have invested more than Shs100 million, stated that the gold was discovered by the local community and that they should be allowed to benefit from it.

“Instead of moving to have the population evicted from the gold mining area, the ministry (of Energy and Mineral Development) should allow them organise and register associations to continue with the activity for a period of six months, in which they should process and acquire mining licences,” she said.

Mr Philip Walusimbi, another gold miner, said the area had an exploration licence in the name of Harmony Resources Limited, which was granted on December 12, 2021, to explore base metals and gold within a radius of 50.30 square kilometres, covering Namayingo and Bugiri districts.

“Nothing has been done by the company to date, apart from only waiting for the locals to make the gold discovery before they come up to claim rights to the minerals,” Mr Walusimbi said.

Documents accessed by Monitor indicate that Harmony Resources Limited applied for the above licence on December 9, 2021, which was granted by the Ministry of Energy on December 12, 2021 and is set to expire next month.

Gold was discovered a month ago in Mpano ‘A’ Village in Bulamba Parish, Namayingo Town Council, by a farmer who was planting bananas in his garden, drawing hundreds of people from Mubende, Buhweju, Luwero, Kampala, and Moroto districts, and from as far as Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan.

However, two weeks ago, Mr Wanjala said the gold mine would be shut down, citing “environmental and safety concerns”.

He said the holes created by the miners posed safety hazards and that they did not obtain approval from the line ministry or the National Environment Management Authority. He added that the area also lacked sanitation facilities, such as pit-latrines.

Losses

Ms Scovia Ajambo, who had opened a food kiosk at the mining site, said she had been making money by selling food to gold miners. “When gold was discovered here, I got a loan from moneylenders and opened up a food kiosk, targeting them (gold miners), but now that the business has been closed, I might be arrested for defaulting on the loan,” she said.

Ms Aisha Namukabire, an artisan gold miner, lost a generator and a stone grinder after police started forcing people out of the mining area. ”

Ms Sarah Namugga, also an artisan miner, said she had invested “huge amounts of money” and that asking them to leave was unfair.

Mr Ronald Magoda, said after missing out on Parish Development Model cash, he had staked his hope on the gold. 

Mr Magoda added that he was facing an uncertain future because of the recent development.