Gold mining has been outlawed in the Mayuge district of Uganda after reports that 6 people were buried alive in search of the precious metal.
Children in the Mayuge area have been dropping out of school at primary levels to go work as labourers for the region’s illegal mines.
Joram Mayatsa, local district commissioner explained in a report by New Vision that “. . . owners of the illegal gold mines were recruiting children aged below 16 years to do casual labour on the mines contrary to the law.”
Illegal mining has been a reoccurring issue lately. Last week the Montreal Gazette reported that 60 people died in a landslide at a gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo when miners rushed to be first to the bottom of the pit.
Read New Vision’s full report >>
