A man died on Wednesday afternoon at Kisii's Nyambera area after he was trapped in the mining quarry when the walls collapsed.
The chairman of the mining quarry, Gilbert Ongwae, said he had warned the deceased after seeing cracks on the canopy.
“I saw several cracks and I warned my colleagues against continuing with the mining. I was called later that a colleague had been trapped by stones whereby I arrived and confirmed it was true,” narrated Ongwae.
The chairman said that was the third period to die in a span of 4 years and appealed for the county government to help them with machines that would enable them in the mining.
“This is where we get our living. So, even if we know the risks it becomes difficult to abandon the activity for another because it generates income for us that enables us fend for our families. I ask the county government through our governor to buy us mining machines so that we don’t put our lives in danger,” he said.
Kisii county chief officer for administration and disaster management Patrick Lumumba ordered miners in the quarry to stop with the activity pending investigation to authenticate if the mining operation will continue or not.
Lumumba said disaster management team from the county will visit the scene on Thursday and give a recommendation on whether the mining can continue.
He said the site should be declared a county disaster after another middle-aged man was covered by the top soil in the quarry and instantly died in 2012.
He sent his condolences to the family of the deceased and said the county will take charge of funeral expenses.
Kisii women representative Mary Otara also sent her condolences to the affected family and wished them warmth in this trying moment.
“I understand the kind of pain the bereaved family is going through. I send my heartfelt condolences to the family and I stand with them in prayers. I know our young men are aggressive in looking for money so that they can empower themselves economically, but it is quite unfortunate that we have lost one who would change the society through self-reliance and helping others,” said Mrs Otara.
On his side, Reverend Victor Mose of Africa Inland Church (AIC) Kisii branch, has called on the county government to offer the youths in the mining quarry an alternative source of income generation before suspending operations in the area.
"I feel bad when we lose our young people while they are struggling to make ends meet. Because the youths depend on the site for income generation, my appeal to the county government is to offer them an alternative source of income generation before they stop activities in the site. If the issue cannot be addressed properly, the youths might opt and engage in illegal activities to enable them get money," noted Mose.