Scramble for gold after discovery of deposits along road project

A woman collecting ores as an excavator clears a section of the Isebania-Migori-Kisii road. [Caleb Kingwara, Standard]

Elvis Owino, another Rongo town resident, said he rushed to the road yesterday evening after receiving information that there was gold in the area.

Owino extracted his share and crushed it at Kitere area after which he sold for Sh20, 000. "I collected some today and took them home," Owino said.

"I collected some today and took them home," Owino said.

Hundreds of people had also rushed to Awendo where the Chinese-based company had been depositing the murram soil. Armed with a sickle and hammers, they dug areas they believed they could get ores rich in gold.

"This is God sent. Everywhere here is gold. The government should let us collect gold," Merisha Anyango a resident of Awendo said.

Margaret Adhiambo, who works at a gold mine at Osiri Matanda in Nyatike Sub-County, said she had to rush to Awendo when she heard that there were gold deposits in the area.

"I realized that it is real gold when someone washed 700 grams and earned cash from it. We discovered that the gold was being got from Komire area," she said.

She arrived at the area on August 2 at 5pm and spent the night at the site.

Hundreds of residents prospect for gold at a quarry in Migori County. [Caleb Kingwara, Standard]

Contractors stood in disbelief as they watched loads of murram being carried away by the residents.

James Mageto, who is the project resident engineer, said work has stalled.

"This is now the third day. They are so many and we brought police there," he said.

"They are taking our marram including the stones," he said.

The engineers sent two lorries of the murram to Kanga to know the quantity of gold in each vehicle. They expected to get results by yesterday.

"If it is a lot then we stop our activities at the site so that the place may become a natural place for the government," he said.