Shanta Gold pledges full funding for exhumation and traditional rites, while exploring cash alternatives for families opposed to moving remains.

Residents in Siaya County’s Ramula and Mwimbona mining belts will decide whether to relocate their ancestral graves or leave them undisturbed in exchange for financial compensation, as Shanta Gold prepares to break ground on its multi-billion-shilling gold project.

​Addressing community members during a recent stakeholder consultation session, Shanta Gold Senior Community Liaison Superintendent Bernard Ochieng said the company is engaging directly with individual families to determine their preferred timelines, new burial sites, and customary rites ahead of the relocation exercise.

​”The company will be taking care of all costs, ranging from obtaining the permits from courts to working with public health officers during the grave relocation process,” Ochieng said, adding that the developer will fully facilitate traditional and cultural ceremonies required by affected households.

​The prospect of disturbing burial sites has generated widespread concern among locals, prompting input from grassroots organizations and professional bodies.

To accommodate families with strong cultural objections to exhumation, the company is developing a hybrid framework that offers a standardized cash payout per grave for those who opt against physical relocation.

​Project officials said final valuation figures and compensation guidelines are currently being fine-tuned following community feedback.

​The grave relocation exercise forms a key pillar of a broader Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) initiated after socio-economic surveys in 2024. According to project records, Shanta Gold has completed asset verification for 980 households within the mining footprint to capture updated property developments and land use.

​Out of those verified, formal compensation offers have been issued to 716 households. Approximately 389 families have received their payouts to date, while 101 households have completed physical resettlement.

​To safeguard unmapped graves and historical sites during early excavation and land clearing, Shanta Gold has partnered with the National Museums of Kenya.

The collaboration ensures that any unexpected human remains or archaeological artifacts uncovered during operations are documented and reinterred with cultural dignity.