Nakabaat Gold Mining site has been a battleground for the UPDF soldiers and the warriors, rendering the place very insecure for the registered gold mining companies to operate. In 2020, a group of joint Karimojong and Turkana warriors raided a settlement camp for artisan miners in the Nakabaat gold mining area, reportedly targeting migrant workers whose property was all looted.
Artisanal small-scale miners are capitalizing on the heavy security presence at the Nakabaat Gold Mining Site to continue their operations, despite ongoing security challenges.
The site has long been a hotspot for conflict, with frequent clashes between the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) and local warriors, making the area unsafe for registered gold mining companies to operate.
In 2020, a group of joint
Karimojong and Turkana warriors raided a settlement camp for artisan miners in
the Nakabaat gold mining area, reportedly targeting migrant workers whose property
was all looted. This was followed by an ambush by the warriors targeting an investor
who the UPDF escorted to survey a site in Rupa Sub County, towards the
Kenyan border. The Ambush in the Naput area claimed the life of a UPDF soldier and
left one other person injured.
The security incidents have since rendered the place
inhabitable for the investors. Gerald Eneku, the Karamoja Minerals Inspector, says that he is not able to conduct any inspections in the area because of the insecurity.
//Cue in: “Nakabaat was taken…
Cue out…majority are Turkana.”//
Nakabaat lies in a riverine valley on the north side of Mt.
Moroto, in the Moroto district. For several decades, miners and gold diggers have
been visiting this area, extracting gold from the riverbed and mining holes
and tunnels. According to Eneku, Nakabaat is one of the biggest gold
mining sites in the country but has been affected by insecurity.
The LC3 Chairman of Rupa Sub County, Joseph Otita says that
some of the villages have been deserted by the residents because of the
insecurity but noted that people have settled in the mines with their families. “Yes, we used to have some wrongdoers but the place is now
peaceful. We’re just resettling the communities in some villages that were
deserted,” he said.
Maj. Isaac Oware, the 3rd Division Public
Information Officer says that the joint security forces have maintained
deployment and secured areas stretching from Nakiloro, Nakabaat, and Naput
towards the borderline with the Turkana County in the Republic of Kenya. He added that the areas of the Rupa- Nakiloro- Naput road to the
border remain secured with visible foot and motorized patrols to enhance
service delivery and cross-border trade.
“There’s no threat or insecurity as claimed by some sections
of illegal miners who were stopped by the district authorities and the Ministry
of Energy and Mineral Development over illegal mining activities,” Maj. Oware
said in a message.
His Police counterpart, Mike Longole, the Mt. Moroto Regional
Police Spokesman says that the people who are currently at Nakabaat site are
illegal miners.
“The mineral police in charge of the area have not informed us
of any development but what I know is that there’s a bit of struggle between the
people of Kakingol and Rupa in that
Nakabaat site,” he said on the phone. Karamoja has over 56 different types of minerals but their
quantity is yet to be established, according to the Minerals Inspector.
