River Sio is one of the biggest and important rivers in Western Kenya alongside Nzoia and Yala. These among others are the main feeders of Lake Victoria. Thousands of people directly and indirectly depend on this River throughout the year for various economic activities such as farming and fishing. I haven’t mentioned the sand harvesters who also happen to be the main perpetrators in the river’s destruction. Sio is the main source of water for domestic use for most households in both Bungoma and Busia counties.
When I was a kid, River Sio with its brackish waters caused by siltation along its banks was a flourishing ecosystem and beautiful to the core. Its banks had a good cover of both indigenous trees, shrubs, and reeds that was home to thousands of animal species. The water itself harboured fishes, snakes, lizards and even crocodiles. Here you would find creatures you would never see anywhere else. The truth is to date, Western Kenya wildlife is yet to be explored, I see no one daring to dig in this part of the country. So much is still intact.
Back in the day the only people that had access to the river were locals visiting it for firewood, to wash or have a swim, for laundry, fishing and herders. It’s until recently that we’ve started seeing the exploitation of the river. Nowadays it’s not unusual to spot a pumphouse along the river, or a truck loading up sand.
Sand harvesters are to my opinion the biggest threat to this river’s ecosystem. Because of lack of employment opportunities in Busia county and the unemployment problem the country is experiencing, many young people in the county have resorted to sand harvesting to earn a living. This economic activity has always been there by the way since here rivers are the only source of construction sand. The only difference is that a few years back it was only a few people in the business. The rapid development and demand for concrete houses has caused a boom and now there are young men along the river’s entire length with spades and buckets with waiting trucks.
The problem is that these hustlers are not only scooping up sand from the river bed but digging up the banks destroying the vegetation cover. And they don’t stop here. They cut trees for charcoal burning leaving the river exposed. This deforestation has destroyed habitats of many species of animals and rare plants. There constant encroachment has destroyed breeding grounds of the river’s fishes leading to dwindling fish numbers in the river and I’m a witness of this.
Last two Sundays in the afternoons I have visited the river armed with two fishing rodes in an effort to relive my childhood only to come back home empty handed with no catch. But how can fish breed and grow under such constant disturbance?
Something ought to be done, urgently. I’ve been tweeting about this problem for a while now but no cause of action has been taken by the county. And once again this is my plea to the relevant authority in the county government: please save River Sio ecosystem. Bring some sanity to this river. With climate change we’ve seen that rain fed farming is no longer sustainable and soon we might be depending on the river’s waters for irrigation. So it’s important that we all come together and fight the sand harvesting menace on River Sio.
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