Six arrests on Uganda’s riverbanks signal tougher gold-mining enforcement

Six people remain in police custody in western Uganda after a gold-mining operation along two local streams drew a government enforcement team to their riverbank workings. The suspects allegedly mined without licences and damaged the surrounding environment, according to Daily Monitor Uganda. Their arrests in Kanungu District bring a nationwide push against unlicensed mining down to a local dispute over access to gold and protection of waterways.

Officials from Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development led the operation, supported by police based in Kanungu. The sweep began at about 11 a.m. on October 1 along the Kibale and Ntungwa streams in Omukishaha Cell, Ntungwa Parish, in Nyamirama Sub-county. Police said the six were arrested over suspected mining activity that breached the country’s Mining and Minerals Act. Investigations are continuing; the allegations remain preliminary findings rather than established conclusions.

Riverbank mining under scrutiny

Kigezi regional police spokesperson Nelson Tumushime said investigators initially found that the suspects had been extracting gold without the required permits. He also linked the workings to serious environmental damage along the streams. The case therefore concerns both the legal right to extract minerals and the effects of that extraction on local waterways—two issues authorities are targeting in the enforcement campaign.

Tumushime said the crackdown followed guidance issued on September 7, 2026, by Minister of State for Minerals Phionah Nyamutoro. Its aim, he said, was to stop unlawful artisanal mining, or small-scale mineral extraction, across the region. He urged people involved in unlicensed operations throughout the Kigezi sub-region to stop and use the established legal process to obtain mining licences.

The police spokesperson said the Police Minerals Protection Unit would keep operating in the area with other security agencies. He described the continuing effort as a way to protect vulnerable ecosystems and the country’s natural resources from damage caused by unregulated extraction. That places the Kanungu arrests within a broader enforcement effort, rather than an operation limited to the two streams.

Licensing meets a security warning

Speaking on Friday, Kanungu Resident District Commissioner Ambrose Amanyire Mwesigye urged residents interested in gold mining to wait while government restrictions remained in place. He referred to a ban and argued that illegal extraction presented a security problem for the district. He also pointed to the dangers of illicit mining and informal mineral-trading channels as reasons for state intervention.

Mwesigye warned that the district would not tolerate the security threat posed by illegal gold mining.

The ministry has stepped up enforcement nationwide to address environmental harm, lost public revenue and security risks associated with unlicensed small-scale mining, Daily Monitor Uganda reported. The updated Mining and Minerals Act requires licensing, environmental compliance and community-safety measures for mineral exploration and processing. The immediate next step is the continuing investigation into the six suspects, while security authorities say monitoring will continue across vulnerable mineral-rich areas of the region.