The Standard on Sunday reports that Kenya has exported 42.1 tonnes of gold to Dubai in the first nine months of 2025, a sharp rise from 13.8 tonnes during the same period in 2024, prompting fears of a thriving smuggling network with the country allegedly acting as a transit hub for gold from South Sudan, DRC, Sudan and possibly Ethiopia.
Most of this gold originates from informal artisanal and small-scale mining operations that largely escape official oversight, with much of it reportedly moved through Kenya in complex cross-border networks before being re-exported to markets in Dubai, India, and South Africa, a situation that experts warn is not only facilitating illicit financial flows but also undermining governance, fuelling criminal networks, and raising questions about the country’s role in regional gold trafficking
