Deaths or injuries cannot deter illegal mining in Zomba, a thriving enterprise amid loss of revenue by government from uncollected taxes.
In March this year, Boniface Namakhwa, a Standard Five learner, died when a heap of soil fell on him when he and his father went mining along Thondwe River.
The father sustained injuries and was treated at Magomero Health Centre, according to a police report Nation on Sunday has seen.
Men, women and children risk their lives to work in environments without protective clothing.
“We don’t need protective clothing because our bodies are used to this work,” said Petros Namuthuwa, an illegal miner from Zaone, Traditional Authority (T/A) Chikowi.
The plump, short and muscular man in his late forties, alongside four colleagues, have been extracting alluvial gold along Thondwe River in the Zaone stretch for two months.
Dressed in a torn khaki shirt that reveals his back and black shorts, Namuthuwa said the crew has unfortunately never hit a jackpot.
He said: “On all three occasions, we made about K500 000.”
Namuthuwa said their hopes are heightened despite such humble beginnings as great things start small.
He said alluvial gold price depends on weight.
Namuthuwa is also aware of the hazards from digging the mineral, citing a previous scenario where some people were injured and a child died after a heap of soil fell on them.
He said injuries happen every week and they treat them as normal.
During the Nation on Sunday visit exacerbated by sexual harassment by some of the men who demand sexual favours.
One woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that this often happens when it gets dark.
“When we turn them down, we are demeaned,” she said, amid murmurs of approval from her colleagues.
But when asked to confirm the allegation, Namuthuwa feigned allegation.
He said: “I have been here for two months only so I may not know everything that happens. What I know is that when we are here, everyone is busy digging.”
Some of the women are allegedly forced into illegal mining by their husbands while some are single mothers who are trying to support their households.
At times, the miners go for a whole week without finding anything tangible to sell or are turned down by buyers due to poor quality of their ‘gold’.
But poverty keeps them going with the hope of better days ahead.
However, the miners are breaching a November 16 2024 resolution to halt the activities because of the environmental degradation their activities cause along the river.
A tripartite meeting between youths, T/A Chikowi and Zomba District Council officials made the resolution.
Nation on Sunday was unable to meet the chief for an interview.
However, the presence of buyers within the area is said to be fuelling the illegal activities, according to community members.
“Their presence is a motivation,” said James Mussa, a community member who guided Nation on Sunday crew during the visit.
We also visited four places within Thondwe Market where buyers are stationed in makeshift shops.
Unfortunately, the illegal miners declined to grant Nation on Sunday interviews, saying they did not want to appear in the press.
Mussa told us that the buyers always have money and pay on the spot.
Malawi Chamber of Mines estimates that mining could contribute 12 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027.
This means the sector could become Malawi’s second biggest forex earner, the first being tobacco.
Currently, tobacco contributes 13 percent to Malawi’s GDP.
In recent months, reports of people being killed in some illegal mining sites across Malawi have been rife.
While some have died from mining accidents, others die from conflicts among the illegal miners.
Some illegal mining hotspots include Zomba, Thyolo, Mangochi, Balaka, Karonga, Machinga, Nsanje and Chikwawa districts.
Minister of Mining Ken Zikhale Ng’oma on April 4 2025 acknowledged in Parliament that illegal mining is fuelling conflicts across Malawi, leading to loss of innocent lives.
He said government is working on stricter regulations and enforcement in the sector.
Ng’oma’s response was prompted by concerns from Lilongwe Mpenu East legislator Collins Kajawa who told the National Assembly that six people were killed in his constituency during violent disputes over illegal gold mining.
The situation, according to experts in the mining sector, is a result of gaps in the regulatory frameworks, legislation, inadequate monitoring and reporting systems.
Ignatius Kamwanje, a mining expert, said in an interview that the associated risks are beyond the physical harm, citing loss of revenue and illicit externalisation of forex.
He also cited environmental degradation, mineral recovery loss due to informal nature and type of mining, as some of the associated risks.
Said Kamwanje: “This situation can best be managed by enforcing regulatory frameworks and formalisation of the sector through governments’ support in providing means of incentives.”
He said there is also need to provide checks and balances on the movement of smugglers within the country’s borders.
Ministry of Mining public relations officer Tibonge Kampondeni on Wednesday asked for a questionnaire, but had responded by press time at 5pm yesterday.
Both Minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola Banda and Secretary to Treasury Betchani Tchereni were yet to respond to our questionnaires to establish total revenue Malawi is losing to illegal mining.
In the 2025/26 National Budget, the mining sector was allocated K3.5 billion.
