Did a goat herder's lucky $200 nugget spark a gold rush in western Kenya?

Notably, a goat herder from a remote area of western Kenya has informed the BBC his discovery of a golden nugget has sparked a gold rush, overwhelming his small village over the last few weeks.

Key points

• Individual discoveries reportedly range from amounts worth a few hundred Kenyan shillings to one find valued at approximately 78, 000 shillings ($600).
• He immediately set out for the village spending regarding 100, 000 Ugandan shillings ($27) to secure there.
• Since the initial rush, the number of prospectors has gone down to around 2, 500 as some have given up the search.
• Mugisha Godfrey, an artisanal miner from Busia in eastern Uganda, travelled to Cheporor after hearing regarding the discovery from a friend.
• Farmer and herder Patrick Lokolia, from neighbouring Napawoi village, joined the gold rush hoping to earn some extra funds to backing his family.

When individuals identified out that 33-year-old Manasse Lomachar had sold his three grams of gold for 36, 000 Kenyan shillings ($280; £205) a number of weeks ago, he believes this led to thousands of prospectors arrived in Cheporor.

And it is true that what last month was just bushland and rough grazing ground near the village is now scarred by pits, mounds of earth and makeshift mining camps.

It is not clear if was Lomachar's lucky find or other recent discoveries that sparked the excitement. But local authorities estimate that regarding 10, 000 residents arrived at the height of the rush.

Even a small amount of the precious metal can transform the futures of these men and women – from Kenya and neighbouring Uganda – plenty of of whose precarious lives rest on an unreliable farming income.

Individuals do sometimes pan for gold in these parts – but rarely find anything significant.

Lomachar's notes his discovery came concerning purely by chance. While he was searching for a missing goat he encountered a group of women panning along a riverbed.

"I joined them, and that's how realised there was gold in this area, " he notes.

"I have children in school, and paying school fees has been a big problem for me, " he tells the BBC wearing an old Chelsea football top and standing against the backdrop of the mining activity.

Eighteen-year-old Abigael Chelengat notes she had never mined before coming to Cheporor from a nearby district, but arrived hoping to find enough gold to pay her school fees and assist keep her younger siblings in school.

Behind her hundreds of individuals work side by side, hacking into the rocky ground with hoes and shovels.

Others carry the earth to a nearby seasonal river, where mostly women crouch in the murky water, washing and sifting mud and sand hoping to detect a tiny trace of the element.

Some of the more experienced miners are deep in holes excavating the earth and drilling at rocks with the same goal.

Hope is kept alive by stories of those for whom the effort has paid off – like Lomachar.

Samuel Kiarie, the deputy commissioner of West Pokot county, notes he thinks the rush began after two notable discoveries.

"Young men discovered what appeared to be a substantial amount of gold. The after day, women produced another significant find in the same area, " he tells the BBC.

Kiarie explains that women have been finding small quantities of alluvial gold along the same seasonal riverbed for years, typically earning $8-$23 a week.

But the uncovering of larger quantities at the beginning of August is what caught the attention of plenty of residents.

Kiarie reckons as rumours spread, the number and size of the discoveries were exaggerated – drawing in ever larger groups of individuals with little or no mining experience who hoped to replicate the noted early successes.

While there is little doubt that some gold has been discovered in the area, questions remain concerning the size of the deposit in the earth and its commercial potential.

"I can confirm that small-scale gold traders told us they received an average of about 100 people every day, " the deputy commissioner notes – though whether the finds were actually gold is not known.

West Pokot county borders Uganda, and communities on both sides have long-standing social and family ties.

He immediately set out for the village spending regarding 100, 000 Ugandan shillings ($27) to secure there. Nevertheless, the living conditions in Cheporor are not favourable, he states.

"We sleep under the trees, and when morning comes, we continue working. Sometimes we work both day and night, " Godfrey tells the BBC. So far, he has discovered nothing. But he is not discouraged.

"We can't return unless we find something. Only when we have discovered what we need can we go back home, " he states.

For others, the gold rush has created opportunities without requiring them to dig.

More than 200 businesses have emerged around the site, according to local authorities, selling food, water and other essentials to the village's new population.

Irene Ameja travelled from neighbouring Baringo county to cater to the crowds. She sells bottled water, soft drinks, bread, milk and other foodstuffs.

"I am hoping that when I leave, I will have made enough money to continue with my business and expand it, " she notes.

But the rapid expansion of the settlement has additionally exposed the area's lack of basic services.

"This is a forest and we are in the middle of the mountains, " she notes. "We don't have clean water to drink or even to bathe."

For women, she adds, the challenges become greater after dark: "You have to find somewhere safe to stay because most of the people sleeping here are men."

Local authorities admit the influx has placed enormous pressure on an area with little infrastructure, no piped water and limited sanitation.

Public health authorities have been deployed to monitor conditions and assist prevent disease outbreaks.

For context, the authorities say they have additionally climbed security patrols against the backdrop of worries over sexual violence and the vulnerability of women and girls at the site.

Authorities are additionally worried that children could be drawn into mining activities as schools prepare to reopen in September.

For now, did a goat herder' s lucky $200 nugget spark a gold rush in remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.