Agony for residents as floods deposit sand in homes, farms

Mary Mutua inspects dykes installed to reroute floodwaters following an accumulation of sand in the Kwa Ngesu River in Munyuni Village, Makueni County. [Stephen Nzioka, Standard]

Munyiva Mateng’e, 80, recalls growing up in Mutiswa village, Makueni County.

She says Kwa Ngesu River, which cuts through the area was characterised by steep cliffs with low sand volumes. But that has changed in recent years.

Over time, sand volumes have gone up and the river seems to be changing course.

“I remember when I was a girl we used to fetch water from the river bed but we used to go in a group of girls to assist each other take our jerricans up the river. It was deep. Over time though, the river has changed sending sand to our homes,” she says.

Ms Mateng’e says her farm produce has been reducing every year as the sand continues to fill farms.

She is worried that October-December short rains will wipe out her source of livelihood.

Not only has her mango plantation among other crops, been destroyed but also her chicken and goats drowned during the April-May rains.

Displaced

Another resident, Esther Mbeyu says they are staring at death if the government doesn’t find alternative land for them or remove excess sand from the river.

“During the last rains, the floods deposited tones of sand in our homesteads. Some houses caved in due to the water intensity and sand. Other houses were covered by sand up to the windows forcing people to rent houses at the nearby market,” says Ms Mbeyu. A few years ago, Makueni rivers were battlefields between sand harvesters and communities determined to protect the precious resource.

That was until the county government, with support of locals, outlawed sand harvesting and formed a sand utilisation and conservation authority.

Now, the resource locals fought so hard to protect is turning into a nightmare for families in areas experiencing excess sand cover.

In Nzaui sub-county, homesteads and farms near Kwa Ngesu River are bearing the brunt of failure to strike a balance between conservation and sustainable sand harvesting.

With the river now full of sand, the water has been flooding nearby villages of Mutiswa, Barazani, Kithathani, Munyuni and Mukameni at the foot of Mwambwani hills.

And with the October-December short rains about to begin, residents fear the floods will displace them. 

“We have many families already displaced and have no alternative place to occupy. However, we don’t want our sand sold, what we need is good coordination on how best to have the sand scooped so that conflict doesn’t arise,” says Onesmus Mwendwa, a resident of Mutiswa.

Mr Mwendwa was addressing a baraza attended by Makueni County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed and Deputy Governor Andelina Mwau.

Barazani Girls High School and Yiimba Primary School are among 15 schools in the area that have classrooms filled with sand. A resident, Nicholas Mutua says sustainable sand harvesting could alleviate suffering of the villagers near Mwambwani hills.

“We want the sand harvested at least four metres so that people can stop suffering and cultivate their farms now filled with sand,” adds Mutua.

However, some residents have opposed sand harvesting arguing it will lead to massive destruction of rivers and the environment. They have since threatened to burn any lorries finding their way to the affected villages.

“We have conserved this sand and allowing scooping of the sand will claw back on the gains we have made on conserving our rivers which are the main source of water for domestic and farm use,” says Peter King’ola, a resident.

During a baraza, Mr Mohammed urged the county government to collect views from the public on sand harvesting. He dismisses the proposal to use security agents to compel locals to allow sand harvesting. 

“We will not give security enforcement for the sand to be harvested when the people are against that. The people are against the selling and what is required is for the county to do enough public participation since people say they want their sand percolated at one place on higher grounds,” the County Commissioner says.

Management level

Joshua Kioko, an expert in environmental conservation, natural resources management and climate change, says there is a management level of the sand to make sure a natural resource that is useful doesn’t affect people.

Mr Kioko warns that nature might be taking its course if the people encroached riparian land.

“Sand conservation is not the only way to make sure our rivers are in a good state and don’t affect locals around, but however, plant cover at the river banks is crucial. These trees hold the banks firm, and water cannot break,” he says.

To mitigate the situation, the environmental expert calls for sustainable sand harvesting, policies to re-forest and rehabilitate the riparian land with relevant aquatic tree species to prevent floods.