There is still not much information about it out there. However, several days ago residents of Takawiri Island complained of sighting a vessel dredging and harvesting sand on the shores of Lake Victoria. While the full facts are still rather hazy, the fact that this is not the first such reported incident in the country raises concerns. A similar incident was reported on the shores of the Indian Ocean in Mombasa a few years ago.
First, sand harvesting has remained a controversial issue in Kenya’s environmental governance landscape. There has been debate about whether it is a mineral which should be part of the Mining Act, whether harvesting of sand should be encouraged at all, and who between national and county government has responsibility.
