Police Search for Miners Buried in Namayingo Gold Pit

A gold mine pit collapsed in Mabuka Village, Bugana Parish, Bukana Sub-county, Namayingo District at about 3pm on 18 July 2026. Several miners are feared dead and police say a search is under way for people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.

Police spokesperson ACP Kituuma Rusoke confirmed the incident and said rescue teams had been deployed to the site. The pit was reportedly closed before the collapse, raising early questions about how miners returned to it and whether the closure was monitored by district or mineral-authority officials.

The initial breaking report, including the police statement and location details, was carried by Pulse Uganda on Opera News: Police search for miners buried in Namayingo gold pit - the external source referenced in this report.

A recurring danger in the Green Belt

Namayingo sits in the Lake Victoria Green Belt, the same gold-rich corridor that runs through neighbouring Busia and Buhweju districts. The area is dotted with artisanal and small-scale workings, some licensed and some informal. Collapses are not rare. In recent years, similar incidents have been recorded in Mubende, Busia and Karamoja, often involving pits that were abandoned, flooded or structurally unsound.

The Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines (DGSM) has repeatedly urged miners to formalise operations and follow basic safety standards, including pit wall bracing, ventilation and emergency access. In practice, poverty and the informal nature of much of the work mean that advice is often ignored.

The contrast with formal, safety-led operators

The same Green Belt that produced this accident also hosts licensed operators who treat health and safety as an operational baseline rather than an afterthought. Companies that work under DGSM oversight, keep their pits properly engineered, and train workers on emergency procedures are not immune from risk, but they are structurally less likely to produce the kind of uncontrolled collapse seen at Mabuka.

LivingWellUganda's reporting in Busia has shown that a safety-first culture can coexist with commercial extraction. Where operators invest in trained crews, protective equipment and community water and health programmes, the workforce and the surrounding villages both benefit. The Namayingo tragedy is a reminder that the absence of that culture carries a human cost.

What happens next

The immediate priority is the rescue and recovery of anyone still trapped. Beyond that, the incident will test whether district and national regulators can enforce closure orders and prevent informal re-entry into dangerous workings. LivingWellUganda will follow the search, speak to survivors and families, and report on any official safety review.