Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o has announced that Illegal miners of building materials will face stricter repercussions following the accelerating rate of illegal mining activities in the county.
In a statement on Tuesday, March 25, the Governor said that illegal miners of building materials such as sand, murram, and ballast will be apprehended, forced to restore the damaged areas, and slapped with heavy fines.
Nyo'ngo stressed that the mining of building commodities in Kisumu should only be authorised and licensed by the county government.
"Pollutant degraders of the environment will pay heavy fines. They will also be forced to restore the area damaged, and the culprits will be apprehended," he said.
"From now henceforth, we will upscale our enforcement efforts and any person arrested will be dealt with by the law," he said.
Nyong'o stressed that the elimination of illegal miners in the county will be fundamental to ensuring the county's environmental fitness.
"Let's conserve the environment because our lives depend on it. Remember that the greatest threat to earth and the environment is the belief that someone else will save it and not yourself," he stated.
The development comes almost two months after Nyamira County Governor Amos Nyaribo, banned the mining of Kaolin, also known as China clay, which is used to make ceramics.
In a Gazette Notice on Friday, January 31, the governor revoked all the previous mining licenses that had been issued by the county. The Governor cited concerns over illegal and unregulated mining operations.
The governor, however, said that miners of the commodity who wished to continue with operations needed to apply for new licenses.
''Now therefore, in the exercise of the powers conferred by the Fourth Schedule, Part 2 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 as read together with Section 30 of the County Government Act (No. 17 of 2012), Gazette Notice No. 16472 of 2024 and all other enabling laws; there be a Temporal Cessation of all Kaolin Mining activities until further notice, to allow the National Government and County Government fully streamline Kaolin Mining activities,' he stated.
'Persons interested in exploiting Kaolin are advised to apply for fresh mining permits upon compliance with the Legal Requirements spelled out in the Mining Act, 2016, Environmental Management and Coordination Act, 1999, and all other relevant laws,'' the notice stated.
