KANYAKWAR, Kisumu –On Sunday, February 8th, four boys aged 15, 12, 10 and 8 from the same family drowned in an abandoned quarry at Kanyakwar in Kisumu Central Sub-County. The incident was linked to an open, unlicensed and unregulated quarry site.
A spot-check by The Eyes Watch found that the quarry where the tragedy occurred is not the only unsafe and unregulated site in the area, but also others in the county.
According to Mr Leonard Ofula, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Kisumu County Director, most quarries in Kanyakwar are not licensed.
“In Kanyakwar there are so many quarries and this is a big problem for us because most of them are unlicensed and non-compliant,” said Ofula during an interview at his office.
The issue of unlicensed quarries is not a new one. On May 2, 2024, NEMA issued a restoration order against the illegal excavation of marram and sand in Kanyakwar and across Kisumu County, following receipt of complaints.
The order required miners to stop excavation immediately, submit Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports, fence off active borrow pits, rehabilitate degraded areas within 21 days, and submit letters of commitment to comply.
EIA also cited penalties under the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) 1999, including imprisonment of one to four years or fines of two to four million shillings for failure to comply. Section 117(3) of EMCA CAP 387 also gives inspectors the power to enter premises for inspection without a warrant.
Mr Ofula explained that licensing requires environmental assessment to determine impacts before approval. “Once a license is issued, miners are advised to restore land to safe conditions after depletion and return for compliance checks.”
“For NEMA before we issue a license to allow mining activity, it is important to first run the environmental assessment. Once a license has been issued, we also advise the miners that once the materials have been depleted, they need to leave the land in such a way that is not dangerous to anyone,” revealed Ofula.
He further noted that many sand harvesters and some murram excavators have been licensed, including the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), who apply for licenses when sourcing materials for road construction.
“There was a time when one was licensed within Kisumu for murram but that area was depleted. Sand harvesters we have licensed many,” Ofula added.
NEMA has also taken robust steps to sensitise miners and communities around Kisumu County. Towards this end, a multidisciplinary team consisting of representatives from the offices of the Kisumu County Commissioner, the Deputy County Commissioner (DCC)of Seme, the Mining Department and the area Member of County Assembly (MCA) visited the area.
“In Seme, there is a lot of sand harvesting and we have issued only one license because the others have not met compliance,” explained Ofula.
Beyond sand and murram excavation, NEMA has raised concerns about gold mining in Seme.“In Kopingo village in Seme, we informed them of the dangers of using mercury. We realised they are using mercury for amalgamating gold without protection, and when mercury is inhaled it is dangerous,” said Ofula.
The drowning of four young boys in Kanyakwar is not just a family tragedy it is a stark reminder of the dangers posed by unregulated quarries across Kisumu County.
Despite restoration orders and strict penalties under the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, enforcement remains patchy, leaving communities exposed.
Unless authorities move beyond audits and sensitisation to real accountability, abandoned pits will continue to claim lives. For Kisumu, the choice is clear: regulate or risk repeating this heartbreak.
