Stand up against sand harvesters, Kibwana urges Makueni residents

Governor Kivutha Kibwana

Rampant sand harvesting is killing rivers, Governor Kivutha Kibwana has said. Prof Kibwana urged residents to team up with government agencies to confront and stop sand barons.

He said there were deliberate efforts by sand cartels to frustrate the county government's enforcement team, by burning county vehicles and threatening its workers.

Over the last five months, three vehicles belonging to the county government have been torched by suspected sand harvesters particularly around Kasikeu where sand is harvested in huge quantities and sold in Nairobi and surrounding towns like Thika and Rongai.

"What these people are doing is sand mining which leaves rivers bare. They are actually killing the livelihoods of Makueni people most of whom rely on rivers for survival," Kibwana said.

The governor said he had in the past received emissaries from the sand cartels seeking a meeting with him, but ruled out any possibility of dialogue with what he called "criminals."

"There is no way I'm going to meet a group of criminals. They have burned our vehicles and the only way to deal with them is for police to arrest and prosecute them," he noted.

He said the sand cartels were exploiting the local youths by paying them peanuts and recruiting them into their militia to shield them from county government enforcement agencies.

The county boss said the harvesters first make their way to Kajiado County before sneaking to Makueni at night. The roads leading to the rivers, he said, had been destroyed and that cases of immorality were on the rise.

Three weeks ago, a threatening letter was sent to the governor reportedly by sand harvesters.