The national stakeholders’ dialogue on artisan and small-scale mining in Uganda that started well came to a standstill when Bukoto East MP Florence Namayanja broke down in tears as she tried to make her presentation.
In an event that is taking place at Hotel Africana, MP Namayanja, who also sits on the parliamentary committee on natural resources, tearfully wondered why government would evict 60,000 people from Mubende gold mines just to protect a single investor.
“We went to Mubende when the eviction was being enforced and my God, people were suffering. Parents could not locate their children and a lot of property worth millions was lost… But who is this person the government is protecting? How could they even think of doing such a thing?” Namayanja wondered as she struggled to hold back her tears.
It should be remembered that early in August this year, government deployed a joint force comprised of Uganda police, UPDF and military police to evict about 60,000 people who were carrying out small-scale gold mining in the area.
The evicted people were given two hours to leave a place they had occupied for five years.
But Eng Vincent Kedi from the department of mines said the situation in Mubende had gone out of control and an eviction was inevitable.
He said that they are currently working out a method of allowing back artisanal miners.
“Government has already allocated 10 square kilometres for artisanal mining and in two week’s time, we shall be allowing back these artisanal miners,” Kedi said.
However, the chairman Ssingo Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Association Emmanuel Kibirige said this place where they have been sent is a wetland, has no gold, has several trees and is already occupied by other people.
To Namayanja, the government should reconsider its position and allow these people back to Kitumbi and Lujinji in specific where they were mining before so as to earn a living.