Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua claims Ikolomani gold is worth KSh 6 trillion, accusing President William Ruto of deliberately downplaying the true value of the Kakamega deposit to facilitate what he called “the biggest daylight robbery in Kenya’s history.”
Gachagua alleged that independent assays conducted by international mining experts in October 2025 put the proven and probable reserves in Ikolomani at slightly over 140 tonnes of pure gold, translating to roughly KSh 5.9 trillion at current global prices of USD 2,850 per ounce.
He dismissed the government’s official figure of KSh 643 billion announced last month as “a deliberate lie designed to deceive Kenyans while insiders prepare to pocket the difference.”
Gachagua further claimed that the British-registered firm awarded exploration rights in November, Midlands Minerals Limited, is partly owned by proxies linked to President Ruto through offshore entities in Dubai and the British Virgin Islands.
He vowed to table shareholding documents in the coming weeks, adding that senior western Kenya leaders, including Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, have been “reduced to useless spectators” as the region’s wealth is allegedly syphoned.
“Ruto anadanganya Wakenya ati dhahabu ya Ikolomani ni ya bilioni 643 wakati ni takriban trilioni sita. Just imagine wanataka kuiba karibu trilioni tano kutoka kwa wananchi. Tena ile kampuni alileta kuchimba, yeye ako na hisa ndani. Mudavadi and Wetang’ula wako tu kama mapambo; wanasaidiana na Kasongo kuibia watu wa Magharibi,” Gachagua said.
The former DP said local geologists who participated in the initial surveys were threatened with dismissal and forced to sign non-disclosure agreements after they questioned the downward revision of reserves from 138 tonnes to only 16 tonnes in the final report presented to Parliament by then Mining Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya.
Gold industry analysts told Business Daily that a 140-tonne deposit would indeed be worth close to KSh 6 trillion if fully extracted at current prices, placing Ikolomani among the top 20 undeveloped gold projects globally.
However, they cautioned that actual recoverable ounces after processing losses and dilution rarely exceed 85 per cent of stated reserves.
Leaders from Kakamega County have called for an urgent parliamentary probe, with Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali demanding that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission investigate the bidding process that saw Midlands Minerals beat three other international firms, including a Chinese and a Canadian consortium.
Residents in Ikolomani remain divided between excitement over potential jobs and deep suspicion that the real beneficiaries will once again be well-connected elites far from the dusty mineshafts where the gold lies buried.