Three people were killed on Monday during violent clashes at a public participation hearing in Ikolomani, Kakamega County, amid rising tensions over a contentious Sh683 billion gold mining project proposed by Shanta Gold.
The confrontation occurred during a National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) forum convened to collect views on the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
The meeting degenerated into chaos after rival groups confronted each other over the planned takeover of 337 acres for large-scale gold extraction.
Following the incident, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya weighed in, opposing foreign control of the region’s mineral resources and calling for local ownership of the gold value chain.
“Communities must not be dispossessed of their ancestral land and wealth,” Natembeya said. “What is happening in Ikolomani is unacceptable. As Abaluhyia, we say tawe — no — to exploitation.”
According to the organisers of the protest, residents are angered by what they term an attempt by Shanta Gold to displace more than 800 households while offering just Sh3 billion in compensation for gold deposits valued at an estimated Sh683 billion.
Local leaders and community groups argue that the proposed terms amount to an economic injustice that would uproot families and deny them long-term benefit from the mineral deposits beneath their land.
They have rejected the company’s EIA, opposed any planned evictions, and demanded a model that allows the community to retain control over extraction, processing, and profits.
“It cannot be that other regions in Kenya benefit from their natural wealth while Ikolomani residents are denied the same right,” said a local representative who addressed the crowd before the clashes erupted. “Our wealth, our people, our future.”
Shanta Gold has previously defended its plans, saying the project will create jobs and contribute to county and national revenue.
However, residents insist that development cannot come at the cost of their land, heritage, and economic sovereignty.
Security has since been heightened across Ikolomani as authorities investigate the cause of the deadly confrontation and seek to calm rising tensions over the high-stakes mining project.
