"Barrick in Toronto Court over Allegations of Acts of Extreme Violence at North Mara Mine in Tanzania", 15 October 2024

Today hearings commence in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto on behalf of 32 plaintiffs1 from Tanzania against Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick).

The plaintiffs are Indigenous Kuria from villages surrounding Barrick’s North Mara Gold Mine ltd. in Tarime District. In their Statement of Claim, filed on November 23, 2022, they claim that “Barrick’s security strategy for the North Mara mine effectively converts the Tanzanian police assigned to operate in and around the mine (the “Mine Police”) into a private and heavily armed security force for the mine.” The plaintiffs allege that this security strategy “has led directly to extensive human rights abuses” and “acts of extreme violence committed by the Mine Police” resulting in deaths, shootings, beatings and torture of local villagers.

This case is the third filed against Barrick or its subsidiaries on behalf of Kuria villagers claiming excessive use of force by mine security at the North Mara Gold Mine since 2013. The two previous cases, filed in the UK, were settled out of court...