An expose by Africa Uncensored has revealed a disturbing trade in Siaya County's Abimbo gold mines, where vulnerable women, particularly widows, are forced to exchange sex for gold-bearing stones, a practice locally known as "Apinde." This exploitation highlights severe poverty and gender inequality in the region.

• Siaya County is home to nearly 50,000 widows, meaning one in every 25 residents is a widow.
• The practice, where young male miners demand sex in exchange for stones, is so normalised that refusal often leads to exclusion from earning opportunities.
• The HIV prevalence in Siaya County is 15.35 percent, nearly three times the national average, with widowed women facing a prevalence rate of 26.4 percent.
• A Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC) report identified similar exploitative sexual behaviour in mining areas, often linked to substance abuse.
• In March 2023, five female artisanal miners died after a gold mine collapsed in Lumba Village, Rarieda Sub-County.