Illegal unlicensed gold mining in Kakamega County, Kenya, has created severe environmental degradation along the River Ikoha basin in Ikolomani and Shinyalu constituencies. Approximately 8,000 artisanal miners extract from the region's estimated 1.31 million ounces of gold reserves (valued at Sh171 billion), operating directly within riverbeds and banks without proper oversight. This has resulted in riverbank collapse, water acidification from toxic mining tailings containing mercury (the use of which for gold extraction is illegal in Kenya), cyanide and arsenic, and damage to infrastructure including the Mukoha bridge. Residents of Makhaya village in Shitochi sub-location report that once-reliable water sources are now unsafe for consumption, forcing them to purchase water despite living adjacent to the river.