SAND EXTRACTIONAs the construction industry booms, the demand for sand has soared. The lucrative sand harvesting in Makueni has sparked bloody conflicts between cartels and locals besides deaths in collapsed mines. Geoffrey Kasyoki, a policeman, was killed by a sand gang on February 11 last year for opposing illegal sand harvesting. CONSERVATIONThe Ministry of Mining banned commercial harvesting of sand in Makueni, Isiolo, Kitui, Nairobi and Kajiado last December, and deployed inspectors to audit quarries and sand harvesting sites. Reckless sand harvesting is a death sentence to us all.

Source: Daily Nation February 11, 2018 16:30 UTC