A stroll at Amimo village in Kisumu West reveals a disturbing yet an activity slowly gaining root in the area as residents scramble to kill from sand mining.
Huge gaping holes, destroyed trees, destroyed water pipes, and homes left hanging on cliffs as a result of uncontrolled mining are a common scene.
The situation is so bad that Odhienyo Hill, one of Kisumu's water towers and home to some of the few remaining natural springs draining their waters to Lake Victoria, is facing a threat of extinction.
Sand and murram miners have invaded both sides of the hill, turning it into a buzzing excavation site as tens of lorries queue to scoop the precious building materials.
Here, the sight of a vehicle that is unfamiliar to the residents is enough to trigger the sand harvesters to flee with their equipment over fears of being nabbed by authorities.
When Sunday Standard visited the site, several sand miners fled the scampered for safety following claims that officials from Nema were visiting the site to make arrests.
According to a section of residents, the mining activity has left several homes exposed, with residents claiming it is a disaster in waiting.
"My home is located a few meters away from the illegal mines. The gaping holes have left our houses exposed. The destruction of the environment currently taking place is nauseating," said the man who asked not to be named.
Charles Omollo, a village elder, said the land degradation was worsening each day and blamed authorities for failing to address the problem.
"We have held meetings with people from NEMA and forestry, but immediately after the meeting, you will see big lorries coming to scoop sand. This village does not even have a proper water source that we can depend on. Look at our roads, you can see the kind of environmental problems we are talking about," said Omollo.
Villagers who sought anonymity said they have held meetings as a community and discussed the impact of sand harvesting that is being done around Odhienyo hill, but one of the harvesters argued that the land in question is his family property.
"He has said he is at liberty to use the land for whatever purpose. You have gone there and seen the number of young people working there. If we push harder, they will rebel against us," said another elder.
According to Michael Nyaguti, an environmental activist, despite a ban on sand harvesting in the region, the practice continues to take place.
He blames authorities for failing to address the problem.
Similarly, in Usoma, several sand harvesters have invaded riparian lands as they seek to make a fortune from the lucrative construction industry in Kisumu.
In Nyando, sand harvesters have turned Nyamware beach into a sand harvesting site. Here, the mining is done in the lake and fish breeding grounds using boats.
A report by the county government indicates that the areas where illegal mining is taking place, including North Kapuonja, Kanyakwar, Kajulu, Nyakach, North Seme, Miwani area, and Kolwa, have all been clustered as prime lands.
According to Governor Anyang Nyong'o, the harvesters have invaded both private and public land, including a gazetted Karateng forest and have threatened stern action on individuals found culpable.
"These natural resources form an important livelihood base for a significant proportion of the Kisumu population, and my government has noticed a disturbing trend in how these resources are poorly disregarded by the existing legislative and administrative framework in the country," he said.
The Governor pointed out that the community living in the East Kajulu area, for example, has embarked on a massive environmental degradation.
He warned that all polluters and degraders of the environment will pay hefty fines and will also be forced to restore the areas damaged, with culprits being apprehended.
"From now on, henceforth, we will upscale our enforcement effort, and any person arrested will be dealt with by the law," he added.
Efforts to get a comment from Nema were, however, futile.
But Kisumu is not alone. In Siaya, hundreds of unemployed youth and women in parts of Siaya have taken up illegal gold mining in a bid to survive harsh economic times, leaving trails of destruction and deaths.
Driven by poverty, artisanal miners in Gem, Ugenya, Bondo, Rarieda, and Alego-Usonga sub-counties stop at nothing to dig out a few flecks of the precious minerals, resulting in cracked walls, destroyed roads, and sinkholes.
They risk their lives and those of their children in pursuit of riches, which geologists say are in abundance in the tiny villages.
The open-pit mines have left a huge environmental problem in the fields where more pits are created daily.
Many miners have died in the past after the mines collapsed on them, while others have succumbed to suffocation from fumes emitted by generators used to light the deep tunnels.
According to police reports, more than ten people have been killed since the beginning of the year while working in the county’s gold mines.
The latest casualties are three miners who died at the Kabuto mining site in Nyaguda sub-location within Bondo sub-county on April 3.
The trio died after a gold mining shaft caved in and covered them alive.
Before this incident, five female artisanal miners died at Lumba gold mine in North Ramba, Rarieda sub-county.
The women, who were reportedly six in number, were buried alive after a mining shaft caved in. Rescue efforts kicked off immediately after the incident happened. They managed to retrieve the bodies of five women after more than two hours.
In February, three other artisanal miners died in a gold mine in Gem, Rera village, after the wall caved in, while they were inside and got trapped for hours.
Last year, seven people were killed after a gold mine shaft collapsed in Lumba village. The seven were among eleven miners who were trapped when the mine walls caved in.
Four of the miners were lucky after they escaped, but with critical injuries.
It is against this backdrop that a section of the county leaders are now faulting the national government for its failure to implement policies aimed at uplifting the lives of the miners.
According to Siaya Governor James Orengo, miners work hard to extract these minerals but gain nothing as proceeds are passed to investors, some are even foreigners.
“The Constitution is explicit on the economic benefits the artisanal miners should get from their sweat,” said Orengo, urging the government to be firm and implement laws that govern the extraction of minerals for the benefit of its people.
Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo said they have been losing young people in similar events, and it's time the government stops this by ensuring safety is upheld.
The deaths and destruction have not only angered the leaders but also residents and human rights groups.
In Bondo sub-county, residents of Kanyamkwaya and Kamnyiri villages have protested against the establishment of a gold leaching plant in the area.
The residents said the plant is likely to cause serious effects on the environment.
In an interview with The Standard, the residents, who accused the investor and the authorities of not seeking their opinion before establishing the plant, vowed to stop the project.
“We have information that the investor plans to use some heavy chemicals to leach, and this will be dangerous to us, especially women,” said Rosemary Adhiambo, a resident.
Adhiambo, who said that they have no information about the investor, argued that the community must be involved before any activity takes place in the area.
Another resident, Dorothy Malowa, said the geography of the area is very dangerous with such activity.
“We have streams and the lake here, and the chemicals are likely to flow down. It will be disastrous to human lives, our animals and even our crops,” said Malowa.
Malowa, who was married in the village in 1982, warned that if urgent action is not taken to stop the planned operations of the company, the community is at risk of losing a generation.
Ayub Weke, a youth who expressed his disappointment with the local authorities, said there is a need to protect the environment for prosperity.
“We might not be able to see the effects of what is being done here today, but in the next five years, it will be disastrous,” said Weke.
A 58-year-old Paul Odundo said the unregulated gold mining activities in the area pose a great risk to the community’s heritage.
Siaya County NEMA Director Kipkoech Rop admits that a significant portion of small-scale miners lack proper permits.
"We will only allow compliant sites to operate," said Rop, adding that the most affected areas are Yala Township, East Gem, and South Sakwa.
In Migori County, illegal mining, especially in Nyatike Constituency, has also left several homes exposed, as well as worsening soil erosion.
County Commissioner Kisilu Mutua highlighted that both the national and county governments were losing revenue because whatever the illegal miners mined was not accounted for.
Report by Olivia Odhiambo, Isaiah Gwengi and Anne Atieno
