Nyandarua Senator John Methu meeting with DCP Upper Eastern Region leaders
Communities in Marsabit say a presidential directive has dissolved into bureaucratic silence while their livelihoods remain on hold
By James Mwangi
Democracy for the Citizens Party Secretary General and Nyandarua Senator John Methu yesterday challenged the government to explain why President William Ruto’s directive to reopen the Hillo Gold Mines in Moyale, Marsabit County, remains unimplemented four months after it was issued.
Methu raised the demand after meeting DCP National Executive Council member for the Mt Kenya North–Upper Eastern Region, Yussuf Huka Jillo, and Marsabit elder Hussein Jama, who brought formal community concerns about the mines’ continued closure. “On behalf of the people of Moyale and Marsabit, we are asking why President Ruto’s directive to reopen the Moyale Hillo Gold Mines has not been implemented,” Methu said. “A presidential directive cannot be announced with great fanfare only to disappear into bureaucratic files.”
The mines, a cluster of artisanal gold fields in the Dabel area of Moyale that once supported tens of thousands of miners and traders from across the region, were shut following security and safety concerns. Ruto subsequently instructed the Ministry of Mining to fast-track their reopening, and on July 22 Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho chaired a high-level meeting with Marsabit Governor Mohamed Ali, Senator Mohamed Chute and area members of parliament, establishing a multi-agency team and giving it seven working days to conduct a comprehensive field assessment. That deadline has long passed with no announced outcome.
Geological mapping, geophysical surveys and geochemical sampling had already begun in Dabel in June, with Governor Ali confirming the work after receiving a delegation from the State Department for Mining. Yet for residents watching their livelihoods stall, ground surveys have not translated into open gates. Community leaders told Methu that local people had been watching outsiders and illegal operators exploit the area’s mineral wealth while licensed access for residents remained blocked.
Methu framed the delay in terms that resonate far beyond Marsabit. With a TIFA poll released yesterday showing 76 per cent of Kenyans believe the country is on the wrong track, the gap between presidential announcements and on-the-ground delivery has become a national credibility question — and Moyale is its latest, most visible exhibit.
The communities of Marsabit, Methu said, are not asking for new promises. They are asking for the one already made to be kept.
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