For many women in Siaya County, gold provides income but exposes them to severe exploitation and unsafe conditions. Beneath the promise of economic survival lies a hidden system where poverty, sexual discrimination, and coercion dominate the mining economy.
These findings were highlighted in an expose released by Africa Uncensored, which documented the realities faced by women in Abimbo.
Siaya County sits along the Busia-Kakamega greenstone belt, forming part of the wider Lake Victoria Greenstone Belt. Abimbo Mines, located in Bondo Sub-County, extract gold from this belt, providing both livelihood and a cycle of exploitation for vulnerable women.
Widows and other economically marginalized women are particularly at risk in these mining areas.
The county has an estimated population of about 1.1 million people, with nearly 50,000 widows living within its borders. Statistically, one in every twenty-five residents of Siaya County is a widow, reflecting widespread vulnerability.
widows rely on gold mining as their only source of income, despite the physical and social risks involved in the work.
The mines themselves are physically perilous, with pits dug by hand sometimes reaching nearly 200 feet deep. Walls of these pits are often unstable, creating conditions that can collapse at any moment and pose constant danger.
Men, usually young and physically strong, dominate the extraction work, controlling access to gold-bearing stones and the mining economy’s internal power structure.
Women working in Abimbo report that this imbalance has resulted in a local practice known as “Apinde,” a term specific to the community’s mining culture. The practice involves exchanging sex for access to gold-bearing stones, institutionalizing sexual exploitation within the mining system.
Refusing these expectations often means complete exclusion from the opportunity to earn money from the mines.
One woman explained that young men giving stones expect sex in return, making the practice normalised and difficult to resist under economic pressure. Women report that some men use the mining pits themselves for sexual encounters while descending into the mines to extract gold.
The cycle of exploitation affects not only widows but any woman attempting to earn a living from mining activities.
As mining sites become exhausted, women are forced to relocate to new pits, where the same cycle of sexual exploitation begins again. Miners frequently refuse to use protection, heightening the health risks for women who have minimal bargaining power.
According to a 2018 report, Siaya County’s HIV prevalence stood at 15.35 percent, nearly three times the national average of 4.95 percent.
Widowed women bear the highest burden, with prevalence rates reaching 26.4 percent compared to 15.7 percent among married women. This situation underscores the intersection of poverty, gender inequality, and health vulnerabilities in artisanal mining communities.
A Public Inquiry Report by the Kenya National Human Rights Commission confirmed that sexual exploitation is common across many mining areas and often intersects with drug and substance abuse.
Women describe encounters with men who use marijuana or other substances, losing restraint and openly demanding sex regardless of age or circumstances. Attempts to resist exploitation are difficult, and some women have tried entering mining pits themselves to gain greater control over gold extraction.
However, mining underground does not eliminate risk, and safety remains uncertain.
Tragically, incidents of fatal accidents occur with alarming regularity. On March 3, 2023, at least five female artisanal miners died after a prohibited gold mine collapsed in Lumba Village, Rarieda Sub-County.
The collapse highlights both the unregulated nature of these operations and the lack of enforcement regarding occupational safety in small-scale mining.
Efforts to address exploitation and unsafe working conditions have been limited, with minimal oversight from local authorities or mining regulators. Women working in these mines continue to face systemic inequities, including limited access to formal employment and education opportunities outside mining.
This entrenched vulnerability perpetuates cycles of poverty, exploitation, and health risks that disproportionately affect widowed and economically marginalized women.
Experts argue that without targeted interventions, the situation will continue to worsen as mining sites expand and demand for gold remains high. Policies addressing occupational safety, gender-based exploitation, and equitable access to mining resources are urgently required to prevent further harm.
Community sensitization and legal enforcement are critical in protecting women’s rights and limiting systemic abuse in artisanal mining sectors.
The Abimbo Mines experience reflects broader challenges in Kenya’s informal mining sector, where regulation is often weak and enforcement inconsistent. Women’s narratives reveal how economic necessity intersects with systemic exploitation, leaving them with limited agency over both their income and safety.
Reports indicate that intervention from both local authorities and national human rights agencies is crucial to improving these conditions.
Without meaningful reforms, gold mining in Siaya County will remain a high-risk occupation for women, where survival comes at the cost of dignity, health, and, in some cases, life.
The experiences of widows and other women in Abimbo highlight a hidden economy of exploitation embedded within a vital economic sector, demanding urgent attention from policymakers and civil society alike.
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