Gold fever grips Kenya's West Pokot as thousands flock to remote village

When goat herder Manasse Lomachar stumbled upon a three-gram gold nugget and sold it for 36,000 Kenyan shillings, word spread and turned Cheporor into a bustling gold-mining camp. At its height, roughly 10,000 men and women from Kenya and neighboring Uganda descended on the remote area, digging pits and washing sediment in a seasonal river. Participants like farmer Patrick Lokolia and teenager Abigael Chelengat hope the metal will cover school fees, while others such as Mugisha Godfrey have yet to find any gold.

Deputy commissioner Samuel Kiarie says two early finds—by men and women—fuelled the hype, though later arrivals have dwindled to about 2,500. The surge has spawned over 200 small businesses but also strained water, sanitation and security, prompting health officials and police patrols to intervene. Authorities await test results from ore sent to Ortum, and Lomachar urges the government to provide tools like metal detectors to make mining safer and more organized.