A section of the crowd attending Senator Enoch Wambua’s rally at Ukasi trading centre in Mwingi Central subcounty on Monday/Musembi Nzengu.Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua has promised to ban camel herding and also crack down on
illegal sand harvesting if elected governor in next year’s general election.
He said his administration would move swiftly to address what he termed two major threats to lives, livelihoods and environment of Kitui residents– violent conflicts involving camel herders and the wanton exploitation of the county’s sand resources.
Addressing a voter mobilisation rally at Ukasi trading centre in Mwingi Central subcounty on Monday, the senator said banning camel herding would be among his first assignments.
He said the move would help curb recurrent clashes between residents and camel herders, whom he accused of invading Kitui from northern Kenya in search of pasture and water.
Wambua also pledged to outlaw illegal sand harvesting and make operational the moribund Kitui County River Basins Sand Utilisation and Conservation Act as part of measures to protect the county’s rivers and other natural resources.
The senator launched his governor campaign on August 10 at a rally held at Kitui Stadium.
His remarks came against the backdrop of growing concerns over attacks allegedly linked to camel herders.
A 14-year-old pupil at Kathungu Primary School in Ukasi ward was reportedly hacked to death with machetes by camel herders a few months ago after he was confronted while grazing his family’s livestock.
Declaring himself a peace-loving leader, Wambua said he had nothing against camel herders from northern Kenya, but maintained that keeping camels out of Kitui was necessary to restore peace and security.
“The issue here is that those who herd the camels are normally armed with guns and machetes, which they use to kill and hurt the people of Kitui,” he said.
Wambua said that because most residents do not keep camels, preventing the animals from grazing in Kitui would effectively discourage armed herders from entering the county.
“If the camels are kept out of Kitui county because our people do not keep camels as
livestock, we will, in effect, get the armed herders out of the way because
they will have no reason to come to Kitui without their camels,” he said.
“I am a known peacemaker, but I am not a coward. It is the right thing to do to fight for the rights of the people of Kitui county. I will give camels marching orders once I sign my declaration of acceptance as governor.”
On illegal sand harvesting, the senator said Kitui’s rivers were natural water reservoirs for local communities and were being destroyed by uncontrolled extraction of sand.
He accused sand cartels of exploiting the resource for personal gain at the expense of local communities and the environment.
“The sand resource should only be used for the benefit of our people, but there is a group of cartels arbitrarily mining the sand to line their pockets to the detriment of our population,” he said.
Wambua promised that he would not cooperate with individuals seeking to exploit Kitui’s natural resources for personal profit if elected governor.
“So long as I am alive and an elected leader in Kitui county, I will never connive with profiteers who are out to plunder Kitui resources and line their deep pockets,” he said.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua’s pledge to ban camel herding and enforce riverbank conservation frames border security and natural resource protection as primary 2027 governor battlegrounds. By linking armed herder incursions and sand harvesting cartels directly to community safety, Wambua seeks to leverage resource-based conflicts to consolidate local voter support.
