Evans Ajwala, Samson Odhiambo and Vincent Otieno at the Lumba village gold mine in Rarieda sub-county. They were mining with Kennedy Ouma who is still buried underground.
The 50-feet deep gold mine shaft, which collapsed in Lumba Village burying four artisanal miners, had never shown any signs of weakness for the two years it had existed, until May 6 when it caved in.
Evans Ajwala, 25, Samson Odhiambo, 22, and Vincent Otieno, 18, are lucky to be alive today after cheating death in the shaft that buried their colleague, Kennedy Ouma, 19.
“It was just like any other day at the mine. There are usually five of us working inside the shaft, but on this fateful day, we were only four,” explains Mr Ajwala, still shaken from the ordeal.
“We worked as usual, but unlike the other days, we decided to finish our task one hour earlier. However, when we were in the process of leaving the shaft, our colleague Ouma, who was in the deepest point of the shaft, was suddenly covered by a heap of soil.”
Ajwala says that their frantic attempts to save Ouma were hampered by the thick mound of soil, that had covered him, and the lack of sufficient space to scoop away the soil.
People responded swiftly
“After a few minutes, we realised that we could not manage on our own, therefore we sent one of us to call for help from outside. The people responded swiftly and we managed to uncover half of Ouma’s body, the only stumbling block was two heavy boulders that were trapping his legs,” explained Odhiambo.
No sooner had the other artisanal miners arrived and joined the rescue mission than the shaft caved in further with another heap of soil falling on the trapped miner.
“He was now in the deepest part of the shaft. The place had become pitch dark and so we were relying on his responses to locate where he was. Unfortunately, he stopped responding,” narrates Mr Odhiambo.
Odhiambo and the other miners eventually called off the mission after they realised that they could no longer trace their trapped colleague.
Locals from Lumba Village gold mine gathered at the site of the collapsed shaft. Three miners escaped while one was buried alive.
“I can say this was a miracle. People have died in these mines. It is difficult to understand how we managed to get out of that place alive,” added Odhiambo.
The villagers in Lumba village blame two investors in the region, who are said to be at loggerheads, for failing to address safety concerns raised by the locals.
Shafts left gaping
“Look at all these shafts left gaping. This is exposing members of the community to danger. And all these are happening because the two investors are not seeing eye to eye. We must hold them responsible. In our village today, you can count not less than five shafts lying abandoned. Some have even been filled with water,” said Mr Vincent Mwango, a member of the community.
Another local, Beatrice Auma, 65, accused political leaders from the region of failing to create jobs for the youth to give them alternative sources of income.
“Young people from this region believe that gold mines are the only places where they can seek jobs. They live extravagant lives from the proceeds of mining forgetting the high risks they put themselves in. They need to be empowered," said Ms Auma.
Mercylene Akinyi, sister to the missing miner, says that she is the only surviving relative of Ouma, who sat his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams last year and was waiting to join a tertiary institution.
“Our parents died when we were still young leaving my brother under my care. I am also a widow,” says Ms Akinyi amid sobs.
As the search for Ouma's body continues, his colleagues who survived the mishap are yet to erase the memories of that scary moment inside the shaft of death.
