How gold mining has changed fortunes of Busia women, youth

As the excavators dig deeper into the Tiira Gold Mine in Busitema sub-county, Busia district, trucks ferry the broken rocks away, dumping them in a designated area. Margaret Kataike is among several women who search among the rocks, looking for those that might have some marks of gold in them.

After identifying the rocks she needs, she packs them into a sack and takes them to a shed where a young man with a rudimentary ball mill crushes them to dust. Sometimes, she has to crush the rocks herself, using a hammer.

Kataike’s day begins early because searching for gold is often futile, involving long hours. Not every rock contains the coveted ore, but since hers is a struggle against poverty and hunger, she must crush every rock in front of her.

“I have worked in this mine for 15 years and I am part of a small-scale mining company made up of mostly women. We come to these mines to make ends meet because our men do not provide for us. When they get money, their wives and children are the last thing on their minds,” the 63-year-old woman says.

Although women are not allowed into the mining shafts, the mother of ten is among the women who provide supporting roles to the miners, such as sorting rocks, crushing them, and sieving the sand outside the gold pits.

“When you sieve the crushed rocks, you might get some small points of gold. Immediately I see the gold, I take it to the office and exchange it for money to buy food or sauce for my children. A point of gold is worth Shs20,000, while a gram is bought at Shs200,000,” Kataike explains.

It is not easy for one to get a gram of gold, though. Kataike says sometimes, after sifting through heaps of rocks the entire day, one can only find three points of gold, which translates into Shs60,000. During the planting season, she has to juggle her time between the mine and her garden.

“Some women are unlucky in that when they return home with that money, their husbands grab it and go to the bar to spend it with younger women. I know of women who have saved money and built houses, only for their husbands to marry second wives and bring them in the home,” she says.

George Kwemboi, the chairperson of artisan miners in Busia district, says gold mining in Tiira began in 1928. He adds that today, women are the predominant gender in the gold mine and its surroundings. Kwemboi is also the chairperson of the Tiira Small-scale Mining Association.

“There are many associations here because every miner must belong to one. My association has 18 members - 15 women, who include Kataike, and three men. Mining is an expensive business so we have partners who work with us to acquire a mining license,” he says. 

A prospecting license costs Shs500,000, while the location license goes for Shs2.5 million and must be renewed every two years. Sometimes, those applying for licenses need to grease the palms of middlemen for their applications to be considered quickly.

“Our partners take a huge share of our earnings because they invest in the licenses. We have to pay rent to the owner of the land on which our mine is located. Ours is a small mine and the association only earns ten percent of what comes out of it. The 90 percent goes to the partners,” Kwemboi adds.

Of the ten percent proceeds that the association earns from their efforts in the mine, five percent goes to the government in terms of royalties and taxes. One half of the remaining five percent is used to pay the rent for the mine while the other half is shared between the association’s members.

Teenagers scramble for the cake

As a policy, children are not allowed into Tiira Gold Mine, but everywhere one looks, there are children of various ages - some crushing rocks, while others go down into the mining shafts. Some of these children are barely 17-years-old.

Francis Wanyama is one of the children who enter the mine every day to eke out a living from the rocks. We found him sieving crushed rock particles and sand in a basin of water. Every night, as he enters his bed, he makes strategies on how to get a higher number of gold points.

“I come from Tiira Town Council so it is easier for me to navigate my way around the mine and dodge the authorities. I do not go to school because my father refused to pay my school fees. I dropped out in Primary Seven. My other siblings, however, attend school,” Wanyama says.

The 17-year-old artisan miner began working in the mines on January 23, 2023, mostly motivated by the need to fend for his mother who had been abandoned by his father.

“In a week, I earn between Shs200,000 to Shs300,000 and with those earnings, I have managed to build a house in the village for my mother. While the money is good, the other boys and I have to make sure we are not arrested by the authorities because if that happens, we have to bribe the policemen to release us,” he adds.

Joseph Wejuli was also driven into the mine by poverty and the need to fend for himself. Now 16, Wejuli began working in the mine in 2022 when he was 14.

“I dropped out of school in Primary Six after my parents ran out of money. Now, I am the one taking care of the family. In a good week, I earn Shs500,000 from the grams and points of gold I get from the mine. I have bought goats, cows, and chickens which are multiplying every day,” he says.

Wejuli adds that his parents are comfortable with the fact that he is breaking his back to take care of them and his siblings. He says if an opportunity to go back to school comes his way, he will not take it.

Generally, child labour increased over the period of 2019/2020 and 2021 and was highest in the age category of five to 11 years. according to the National Labour Force Survey of 2021, an estimated 40 percent, representing 6.2 million children, aged between five to 17, are in child labour.

On average, children spent 43 hours per week on work. Through numerous legislation, the government of Uganda is committed to eliminating child labour, especially in its worst forms. According to the Employment Act 2006, the worst forms of child labour include children working in industries, occupations, or working conditions gazetted as hazardous.

From Wanyama and Wejuli’s experiences, it is clear that a multifaceted approach is needed to address poverty, improve access to education, and at the same time, guard against child labour to safeguard the future of Uganda’s rural and urban poor children.

Paul Angeso, the leader of the Tiira Landlords and Artisanal Miners Association, says women and children are not allowed into the mining pits because mining is a masculine job. Some of the pits are more than 130 meters deep in the ground. 

“Women and children can work in the processing chain such as the sluicing ponds and ball mills, but they have to be above 18 years. Of course, you will find some stubborn children in the gold pits because they are probably heads of families and they need the money. Others have been neglected by their parents and are being driven by poverty,” he says.

However, despite the illegality of child labour, some leaders like Kwemboi, argue that working in the gold pits has saved some youths from being sucked into a life of crime.

“Children are not supposed to go into the mines but because this is gold, you will find them there. Since we are in the holiday season, we allow them into the mines to make school fees. If he gets four points of gold in a day, he earns Shs80,000, which, for a child, is a lot of money to make in a day,” he says.

Michael Immo, the mayor of Tiira Town Council concurs, adding that during the school term, though, the miners use the local council authorities and the police to arrest any children found in the mines.

“This town is almost crime-free because after spending the entire day at the mine working to make ends meet, the youngsters are simply too tired to engage in petty theft or break-in burglaries. Besides, the fact that women are also working means that domestic violence is on the decline,” he says.

The benefits

Most of the companies that buy the gold from the youths and women are Chinese-owned and they pay cash on the spot. This means the young men always have money in their pockets and this eliminates the temptation to steal.

For women like Kataike, the ready cash has helped them to save money, buy land, and build houses.

“I have a plot of land in my village and two plots in the town council. Previously, I had three plots of land in the town but I sold off one to a pastor who wanted to establish a Pentecostal church,” she says.

In a testament to the transformative power of economic independence, Kataike adds that because of her achievements, she has gained the respect of her husband, his extended family, and her neighbours.

“The gold fortunes have eliminated the presence of grass-thatched houses in Tiira Town Council. The place looks like a city yet it is not one. Even the transport situation has changed because it is rare to find people moving on foot or riding bicycles. Nowadays, people drive cars or ride motorcycles,” Angeso says.

He adds that the miners have embraced education, with some sending their children to good schools and universities in other districts. According to Kwemboi, several nationalities work in the gold mine, including Kenyans, Rwandans, South Sudanese, Chinese, Indians, Congolese, and Tanzanians. The latter makes the largest grouping.

“Gold has a ready market because you can sell it anywhere. If you have anything above ten grams, the middlemen will pay you off here. However, if you have a kilogram and above, you have to take it to the Indian gold buyers in Kamwokya in Kampala City,” he advises.

The challenges

However, however lucrative, gold mining is not without its challenges, chief of which is the potential for mines to collapse on the miners.

“Last year, we were taken to Tanzania to learn better and safer ways of mining to minimise accidents at the site. Before the training, people used to die whenever sections of the mine collapsed. Recently, three women died here when rocks fell on them. Another time, about 18 women, including myself, were sorting through rocks when there was a landslide. Luckily, there were men nearby who dug us out of the soil,” Kataike says.

Kwemboi confirms that two people have died in the mining pit belonging to his association due to oxygen deprivation.

“As we were pumping oxygen into the pit the pipe we were using got stuck in the mud without our knowledge. The first miner we sent down collapsed. When we sent a second miner down the shaft to help him, he told us there was no oxygen. He also collapsed and died,” he says.

Besides the lack of oxygen, miners have been known to stumble as they descend into the mine, lose their balance, and fall to their deaths. 

“Nowadays, our mines are 160 meters long and we have to use explosives down there. Several people have died in the pits this year. There are pipes all over the mines so someone can easily fall victim to injury,” Kwemboi adds. 

Such is the risk associated with mining that Kwemboi says banks do not give the associations loans to expand their businesses, in spite of the fact that there is a lot of money to be made from gold mining.

In a world where gender roles are often rigidly defined, Kataike illustrates the path countless women have taken to challenge the status quo and provide for their children.

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