Police in Tanzania guarding the North Mara Gold Mine have been linked to the killing of at least six people and injuring several others during clashes since February 2024, according to Human Rights Watch. The Tanzanian authorities need to conduct independent and impartial investigations into the killings and other abuses in northern Tanzania’s Tarime district.
The police have accused those killed and injured of “invading the mine” and engaging in illegal small-scale mining within the mine’s premises. No arrests have been made in connection with these abuses.
“The increasing number of unaccounted-for killings related to Tanzania’s North Mara Gold Mine reveals a troubling trend of impunity for abuses that must be addressed,” said Oryem Nyeko, senior Tanzania researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Tanzanian authorities must not ignore these deaths but must ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”
In 2014, the Tanzanian government made an agreement with the North Mara Gold Mine Limited company to provide up to 110 police officers, known as “mine police” by community members, to guard the mine on an ongoing basis. Rights groups and community members have reported that since this agreement, police officers have been responsible for beating, shooting, torturing, and detaining residents of areas near the mines and dumping sites without charge. The police accuse the residents of theft from the mine and its surrounding waste rock dumping sites.
Barrick Gold, a mining company based in Toronto, Canada, and the Tanzanian government have jointly owned the mine since 2019. The region is home to the Indigenous Kurya people, who have been conducting small-scale local mining on the land for centuries. In 2022, 21 Tanzanians filed a lawsuit against Barrick Gold in a Canadian court, alleging that the company was complicit in extrajudicial killings and beatings of residents by police assigned to the mine. They claimed that the company turned the police operating in and around the mine into a private and heavily armed security force. A preliminary hearing in this case is scheduled for October.
Several deaths and injuries have been reported in the past four months without any arrests being made. On February 28, Jackson Nyamonge, a 28-year-old resident of Nyamwaga village, was found dead at the mine fence with injuries to his chest and stomach. On April 7, local media reported that police shot Sylvester Sobhe Marwa Nyangige in the head during a security operation at the mine. A police form seen by Human Rights Watch cites “unnatural death” as the circumstances of his death. On April 26, police allegedly shot and injured Pascal Malembara in the leg in the Murwambe area.
On May 6, police confirmed the death of Emmanuel Nyakorenga, a resident of Kewanja village, at a primary school near Nyabigena village, close to the mine. The police told the media that he was part of a group of people with “traditional weapons” who attacked the police officers preventing them from unlawfully entering the mine.
A witness described the killing of Nyakorenga, stating that police officers chased several people from an area near the mine’s Gokona pits into the Nyabigena Primary School playground, about 500 meters from the mine around 6pm. The police allegedly used tear gas, sound bombs, and live bullets on the group, injuring some.
After Nyakorenga’s death, residents of the area blocked the main road near the school in protest of his killing. Police later returned and dispersed the crowd using tear gas. Nyakorenga’s relatives mentioned a postmortem examination found what appeared to be a bullet in his head, yet the officials who conducted the exam did not provide them with further information.
Since May 6, residents have reported the deaths of at least three other people in the area. Residents found the body of an unidentified person at a mine dumping site outside the mine premises the day after Nyakorenga’s death. On May 22, media reports indicated that Babu Christopher Iroga, a resident of Mjini Kati village, and July Mohali, a resident of Nyangoto village, were killed during a confrontation with police, who accused them of stealing from the mine.
John Heche, a former member of parliament for Tarime district, informed Human Rights Watch that police abuses have increased in recent years, stating, “These deaths have been happening for a few years, but never to this extent. People are being shot almost daily.”
Barrick Gold replied on June 11 to a request for information from Human Rights Watch on June 4 that the company does not have control over the police and their actions, as the police are requested to enter the mine site to assist in upholding law and order when their employees’ lives are in danger. The company stated that it is not involved in or aware of police activity in the community, nor can it be responsible for such activity occurring in geographical proximity to the North Mara Gold Mine.
Barrick Gold’s human rights policy states that it does not tolerate human rights violations by their employees, affiliates, or any third parties acting on their behalf or related to any aspect of their operations. They strive to prevent being complicit in adverse human rights impacts, including benefiting from human rights violations caused by others.
According to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, companies must avoid causing or contributing to human rights violations and provide remedy to victims of abuses they have caused or contributed to.
The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials mandate that police use nonviolent means before resorting to force and firearms. While law enforcement officials must protect lives and property, they should only use force when unavoidable and in a proportionate manner, using lethal force only when absolutely necessary to save lives.
“Residents near Tanzania’s North Mara Gold Mine have long complained about police brutality,” Nyeko expressed. “The Tanzanian government should conduct independent and impartial investigations into these abuses to ensure that the victims and their families receive justice.”