Thousands of artisanal miners in Mubende are living in fear after they were told about a proposal to evict them from land totaling about five square kilometres. The miners have now petitioned President Museveni over an eviction order that could see them taken off the land where they carry out gold mining.  On June 21, a petition was submitted to President Museveni, asking him to reverse any directive that would see them evicted. “The president should reverse this order issued because we believe he was misled to issue it,” says Mr John Bosco Bukya, the spokesperson of the Mubende Artisanal Miners.  Estimates place 25,000 people directly involved in artisanal mining operations in Mubende.

The directive, according to the miners, was issued on June 13, during a meeting between President Museveni and a licence holder called Gemstone International. “This is where a decision to protect the interest of the investor culminated into a presidential directive to evict and relocate artisanal miners in Kitumbi Sub-county,” reads the petition...

There has been a long-running dispute between artisanal miners and two companies (Gemstone International and AUC Mining). The artisanal miners are accused of taking over land licensed to...Gemstone International to carry out mining activities. The mining companies, on the other hand, allege that the artisanal miners are operating illegally on the land. A previous attempt in 2013 to evict the miners did not take place. “We are not foreigners and at the moment, we are becoming treated as non-Ugandans. Over 60,000 people working in these mines are being threatened with the eviction within one week. This is unfair to us Ugandans. They are talking about youth unemployment. We are not begging the government for money,” said Mr Emmanuel Kibirige, the secretary general of the Ssingo Artisanal Gold Miners Association.