Senior Turkey Gold Mining staff and the Katodori Payam chief of Kapoeta East County in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State were beaten up by angry youth for allegedly mining in the area without consulting the local community.
The incident has seen the company ordered to shut down its activities in the county.
The youth and the elders have accused the politicians and the chief of colluding with Governor Louis Lobong and the National Government to rob them of their inheritance.
The Turkish company had reportedly cleared the road from its main camp to Kapayet hills, which are known to have large gold deposits.
A Chinese company had earlier tried to mine in the area, resulting into a fight between the Toposa and the firm’s security forces, resulting into the loss of lives from both sides.
The injured Turkish firm staff are currently nursing their wounds in Kapoeta with others having been transferred to Juba for further treatment.
An official told Radio Tamazuj on Saturday that Governor Louis Lobong had rushed to the scene of the clash upon receiving the news to try to convince the community to allow the company to operate. It was, however, not clear whether he succeeded.
Kapoeta East County Commissioner Angelo Abdalla Lokeno told Radio Tamazuj that the mining company staff did not consult the local community on their presence, hence the anger.
He said several youths had been arrested and sent to Kapoeta South, an act he considers a trespass of authority and duty.
Eastern Equatoria State lawmaker Christine Nakwar confirmed the incident, and accused her colleague in parliament, she did not name, for orchestrating the acquisition of the mines without the community’s consent.
She said the mining company had been on the ground for the past two years, conducting explorations without fulfilling the community demands.
Mining activities in the state
In December last year at the 7th Governors Forum in Juba, Eastern Equatoria governor Louis Lobong denied reports of large-scale minerals mining activities in parts of the state.
The governor said there are no such mining activities in the state, except for artisanal activities that he said are common in the state.
It is difficult to estimate the amount of gold produced in South Sudan. Neither the Ministry of Mining nor the Ministry of Trade and Industry have data on the country’s gold production or trade. The secretive and high-risk nature of investigating the sector makes it difficult to assess the scale of production or value of gold flows. However, there are indications that millions of dollars’ worth of gold is being produced and smuggled out of the country.