Chaos at a State-sanctioned public participation forum in Ikolomani, where four people were killed, dozens injured and scores arrested, has reignited a political storm over Western Kenya’s gold belt, prompting regional leaders to demand an immediate halt to Shanta Gold’s planned mining operations and the relocation of 800 households.
Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, who said they were speaking on behalf of leaders from five Western counties, accused the State of enabling a foreign-driven land grab dressed up as development.
They argued that the proposed Sh3 billion compensation package for displaced families “defies logic” when the gold under their feet is valued at more than Sh680 billion.
“Why should 800 households be displaced for Sh3 billion, while the gold beneath them is valued at Sh68-plus billion?” Governor Natembeya said.
Erick Msheti, one of the gunshot victims, at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu on December 5, 2025.
Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group
Their remarks delivered in Nairobi come after residents on Thursday stormed Emusali Primary School during a National Environment Management Authority-organised forum after claiming their concerns were being dismissed.
Police responded with force, and by the end of the day four civilians — including 34-year-old Conrad Ashioya, a construction worker — were dead. More than 30 were injured, some with gunshot wounds, and at least 63 were arrested.
“Ikolomani’s gold belongs to Ikolomani’s people. Kakamega’s gold belt belongs to the people of Kakamega,” Dr Khalwale said.
They demand the immediate release of all arrested residents and the return of confiscated motorbikes, which they said are “the primary livelihood tools for many youths and families in Ikolomani.”
They also called on the national government to take responsibility for the lives lost “under its watch” and to fully cover funeral and family support costs.
“The people of Ikolomani cannot be punished for standing up for their land and their future,” Mr Natembeya said. “Justice demands immediate action, accountability, and restoration.”
On Friday, the human toll of the clash was visible outside the Kakamega Police Station, where mothers and wives crowded the gates, clutching birth certificates and pleading for the release of detained children, spouses and elderly relatives.
Consolata Musavi Lubanga addresses journalists on December 5, 2025 at Kakamega Police Station, where her husband had been detained after unrest in Isulu, Ikolomani, over Shanta Gold Company’s bid to acquire village land for mining gold.
Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group
But Western Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamoud attributed the violence to political mobilisation, claiming youth armed with crude weapons attempted to storm a police post to seize firearms.
Two MCAs, he said, were arrested for allegedly bankrolling the confrontation, accusations local leaders have dismissed as a diversion from State brutality.
Artisanal miners have long accused Shanta Gold of extracting resources under the guise of exploration. Past clashes, including fatal ones, have accompanied the company’s arrival, and even as mine shafts collapse and child labour persists, many residents say artisanal mining remains their only reliable livelihood.
The two leaders are demanding that Western Kenya charts a radically different path: a fully localised ownership structure where counties hold majority stakes, every Ikolomani resident becomes a shareholder, and a modern “Gold City” rises without displacing a single family.
They envision mining, refining, jewellery production and export done locally - a full value chain that would, in their words, “keep wealth in Western Kenya and create thousands of skilled jobs.”
“We will not allow our communities, our institutions, our economy, or our future to be sacrificed for foreign profit,” Governor Natembeya said.Additional reporting by Rushdie Oudia
