Kitui senator vows mass action against sand harvesting cartels

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua speaking at Kanginga Village, Kavuvwani location in Mwingi West Constituency on Tuesday/Musembi Nzengu

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua has vowed to mobilise mass action against cartels involved in what he described as reckless and unchecked sand harvesting, warning that the practice is draining water sources and accelerating desertification in the county.

“The sand cartels should know their day is coming very soon. We shall call our people to action. We will block trucks from accessing riverbeds to collect sand,” Wambua said.

The senator first issued the warning on December 23 during a press conference at his Kyondoni rural home in Kitui West, where he said he was ready to pay the ultimate price to stop destructive sand harvesting across the county.

On Tuesday, while addressing mourners at a burial ceremony in Kanginga village, Kavuvwani, in Mwingi West constituency, Wambua reiterated his resolve, saying he was prepared to die if that would bring an end to the environmental destruction.

“I have offered myself as a sacrificial lamb. I have informed my family because I know how dangerous the people I am fighting are. They have the capacity to kill,” he said.

“If they kill me and that ultimately stops the blatant destruction of our rivers and environment, so be it. I will not retreat,” he added.

Wambua called on residents of Mwingi and the wider Kitui county to mobilise and voluntarily protect rivers and water catchment areas, arguing the county’s future depends on collective action.

He claimed that since launching his campaign, he has received threats from sand cartels, including threatening text messages and online harassment, but insisted that intimidation would not deter him.

“My message to all sand cartels in Kitui is clear: I have outgrown threats. I am not the kind of leader to be cowed by intimidating messages,” he said.

The senator said extensive sand harvesting had left many rivers bare, rocky and dry, worsening water scarcity and speeding up desertification.

He cited rivers Tiva in Kitui Rural, Ithekethe in Kitui West, Kiromboko in Mwingi West and Kivou and Mwania in Mwingi Central as among those under severe threat.

He warned that Kitui’s forests had previously been decimated by charcoal cartels and said he would not allow river ecosystems to suffer the same fate.

Wambua criticised the Kitui County Government for failing to enforce laws regulating sand harvesting, despite the county assembly passing legislation in February 2024 to protect river basins and the environment.

Records show that the Kitui County River Basins Sand Utilisation and Conservation Act, 2023 was assented to by Governor Julius Malombe on March 1, 2024, but enforcement has remained weak.

The senator also faulted the Kitui county office of the National Environment Management Authority accusing it of turning a blind eye as environmental degradation continues.