Five killed, two injured after closed Marsabit mine collapses

At least five people died while two were seriously injured when a gold mine within the Dabel area of Moyale in Marsabit County collapsed.

The seven were part of a team said to have sneaked into the heavily guarded mine Thursday night. It is one of the 13 sites in Dabel that the government closed in March following clashes between rival groups, which claimed seven lives.

The police did not specify the site where the collapse took place, but the 13 are Hillo Gorgora, Hillo Walkite, Hillo Rabaalee, Hillo Godde Haroressa, Hillo Orofa, Hillo Tessum Qalicha, Hillo Hudda, Hillo Tanzania, Hillo Irress Abamartille, Hillo Qoranjido, Hillo Gootu, Hillo Karray, and Hillo Irress Ashindia.

County Police Commander Nyambu Mwakio said search and rescue operations were underway to establish whether there were more casualties.

"Investigations are underway to establish the cause of the collapse," he said on Marsabit's Radio Jangwani FM station on Friday evening, adding that the group had not been licensed to undertake mining activities.

The injured people were taken to the Moyale Sub-county Hospital.

Questions linger about how the illegal miners made it past security personnel, with residents alleging that rogue government officers were facilitating activities despite the ban.

Security officers were deployed to enforce the ban immediately after it took effect on March 14, with the sites described as dangerous and disturbed.

The 30-day ban on mining activities ended about a month ago, but Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki announced a fortnight ago that it remained in force. He spoke during a tree-planting exercise in Saku Constituency.

Kindiki was within his rights as the Gazette notice that announced the ban stated that it "may be withdrawn, varied, continued, or otherwise altered as appropriate, as the Cabinet Secretary may direct."

The Interior ministry said at the time that the ban was to prevent the escalation of violence and criminal activities in the area, ostensibly due to a spate of grave security breaches.

Cases of rape, defilement, and gender-based violence had been reported at the sites, and the government said armed criminals were facilitating trade in narcotics in the area.