The government moved to restore order in parts of Moyale in Marsabit County where seven people were killed in a fight between gangs over the control of gold mining sites.
Four other people are admitted in hospital with injuries following skirmishes between gangs over the control of the sites.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki flew to Dabel Artisinal Mining Sites within the Golbo Division of Marsabit
County and announced measures to arrest the escalation of violence and other criminal activities in the area.
The area has been rife with armed criminals facilitating trade in narcotic drugs, while seven people including two aliens were killed this week in gang rivalries among the illegal artisan miners on site.
Cases of rape, defilement, and gender-based violence have been booked, Kindiki said.
Kindiki said a special team from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has taken over investigations to identify and apprehend the offenders.
He also said effective 0630 hours Thursday, March 14, 2024, the Dabel Artisinal Mining Sites described in the Gazette
Notice No.3032 of even date, had been declared dangerous and disturbed and vacation orders were issued for 30 days.
This meant the site had been closed.
“Pursuant to Section 8(1) of the Public Order Act, Cap 56 of the Laws of Kenya, and Section 106(1) of the National Police Service Act, no person may be found present in the areas specified in the Gazette Notice at any time without the written authority of the County Police Commander, Marsabit County,” he said.
DABEL, MARSABIT COUNTY, KENYA
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2024Following a spate of grave security breaches at the Dabel Artisinal Mining Sites within Golbo Division of Marsabit County, the Government has taken measures to arrest the escalation of violence and other criminal activities… pic.twitter.com/k26aexd8Qh
— Kithure Kindiki (@KindikiKithure) March 14, 2024
As such, he added, the gazetted areas remain under the domination of national security agencies and no access to, or activity of any nature whatsoever is permitted in the said areas during the pendency of the orders herein.
The orders shall remain in force at all times but they may be terminated, withdrawn, varied, continued, or otherwise altered as the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration may direct, he said.
The affected areas include Hillo Gorgora, Hillo Orofa, Hillo Walkite, Hillo Tanzania, Hillo Irress Abamartille, Hillo Gootu, Hillo Tessum Qalicha and Hillo Karray.
Others are Hillo Hudda, Hillo Qoranjido, Hillo Irress Shindia, Hillo Rabaalee, and Hillo Godde Haroressa.
Kindiki was accompanied by Deputy Inspector General of Administration Police Noor Gabow.
The area is among many sites that have attracted a huge number of youths who are scavenging for the mineral for a living.
This has caused tension among groups seeking to control the sites with no help from the local authorities.
Officials say the sites have deposits that produce gold worth millions of shillings annually.
The Sunday, Monday and Tuesday skirmishes are the latest in a series that have affected the sites in the area amid calls on authorities to intervene and address the same.
On Tuesday, a boy aged 17 was found with gunshot wounds in a makeshift he was hiding after he had been shot at the mining site by one of the warring groups, police said.
He was admitted to the hospital with a gunshot wound in the back.
This gave an indication the groups were armed in efforts to protect their territories.
Police said the chaos broke out after a group of miners found a shallow grave at the site and on excavating it, they found a body of one of them who had been missing.
According to police, this prompted the group to target another group of miners in the area accusing them of killing the one who was found buried in the shallow grave.
In the process, according to police, two miners were stoned to death while eight others sustained serious injuries.
Four other bodies were later discovered in the area raising the toll to six.
A team of police officers rushed to the scene after the Monday, March 11 skirmishes and contained the violence.
They found the bodies lying at the site while the injured were rushed to hospital.
More police officers were sent to the area to ensure the safety of all amid considerations to close the sites for a while.
The area has deposits of gold, which miners venture to excavate even with poor conditions.
Some of the miners are killed when the walls of the sites collapse.
This came as questions emerged as to why the activities, that have created jobs for thousands of young people, remained unregulated with miners working until late in the night which put their lives at risk.
The government had ordered an immediate ban on unlicensed mining activities in the area.
But the miners went back.
