“GOLD SMUGGLING BOOM! Kenya Exposed as Africa’s Secret Transit Hub!”
Kenya has found itself at the centre of a growing gold-smuggling storm after shocking new figures revealed the country exported 42.1 tonnes of gold to Dubai in the first nine months of 2025, a dramatic leap from just 13.8 tonnes over the same period last year.
The sudden surge has raised alarm bells across the region, with investigators claiming Kenya has quietly become a major transit route for illicit gold flowing in from South Sudan, the DRC, Sudan, Ethiopia and even as far as Zimbabwe.
Most of this gold is believed to come from informal artisanal mines, far beyond the reach of government regulation. From there, it reportedly moves through complex smuggling networks before being shipped off to global markets in Dubai, India, and South Africa.
Experts warn the trade is fuelling criminal syndicates, money laundering, corruption, and placing Kenya at the heart of a rapidly expanding African gold-trafficking underworld.