(IMVEPI, UGANDA) – A South Sudanese Refugee Woman Dies in Illegal Gold Mine as Food Cuts Deepen Crisis
A South Sudanese female refugee has died and another woman was seriously injured after a gold mine collapsed in Uganda’s Imvepi Refugee Settlement in the West Nile region on Saturday, 19 July 2025. The women were reportedly engaged in illegal mining to earn income after humanitarian food assistance was significantly reduced.
According to eyewitnesses, the deceased was digging deep into the ground to extract gold when the soil caved in, burying her and her colleague. The second woman survived but sustained serious injuries.
Local community leaders say that, due to worsening food insecurity, many refugee women have turned to illegal and dangerous forms of labour to feed their families. The deceased woman’s name has not been released by authorities.
“This is not an isolated tragedy,” said Bosco, a local refugee leader. “Because of the recent cuts in food rations and a flawed verification process, many vulnerable refugees have been misclassified under Category 3, which means they receive little or no food assistance.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) recently scaled down food assistance in Uganda’s refugee settlements, citing funding shortages. Refugees say that the beneficiary categorisation system has failed to identify the most vulnerable, leaving thousands of households without adequate support.
Human rights activist Victor Batali Silas described the conditions in the refugee settlements as “unbearable” and urged South Sudan’s political leaders to fast-track the full implementation of the 2018 revitalised peace agreement.
“I want to call upon the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) to recommit itself to the full implementation of the permanent ceasefire and transitional security arrangements,” he said. “This includes transitional justice, reconciliation and healing.”
Victor added that sustainable peace in South Sudan is the only way to ensure safe and voluntary return for the over one million South Sudanese refugees in Uganda who fled during the 2016 conflict. Many of them now live in dire humanitarian conditions.
A typical refugee household in Uganda previously relied on monthly food assistance but aid cuts have forced many into risky coping mechanisms like gold mining, charcoal burning and informal labour.
