Two Killed in Sand Harvesting Incident at Maruti B Village, Webuye Bungoma

Two individuals lost their lives while harvesting sand in Maruti B village, located in the Maraka area of Webuye, Bungoma County. The incident was reported on February 11, 2026, with details emerging through local media and social media posts from Citizen TV.

Specific circumstances surrounding the deaths were not detailed in initial reports, but sand harvesting in riverbeds and quarries carries inherent risks. Common hazards include pit collapses, landslides, drowning in flooded pits or being trapped under falling material during manual excavation. In Bungoma and neighbouring counties, informal sand mining often occurs along rivers like the Nzoia, where seasonal flows expose deposits but unstable banks and saturated soils increase collapse dangers.

Webuye, in Bungoma West, sits near the Nzoia River basin, where sand extraction supports local construction for housing, roads and small infrastructure. Demand for river sand remains high in western Kenya due to its quality for concrete mixing, driving both licensed and unlicensed operations. Many harvesters work without formal permits, using hand tools or basic machinery in makeshift pits.

The incident adds to recent fatalities linked to sand activities in the region. In January 2026, two people died in Kakamega during a clash with forest rangers enforcing bans on illegal harvesting in protected areas. Those cases involved gunfire after confrontations over tractor transports. Bungoma has seen occasional enforcement actions on riverbed mining, though oversight varies across counties.

Sand harvesting remains largely informal in many rural parts of western Kenya. Operators dig pits or scoop from river channels, loading material onto lorries or tractors for sale to builders in Webuye, Bungoma town and nearby areas. Risks rise during rainy seasons when soils loosen or water levels change suddenly. Safety measures like shoring, depth limits or group monitoring are rarely applied in small-scale operations.

For the construction industry, sand forms a critical input for concrete, mortar and block-making. Shortages or price spikes often follow enforcement crackdowns or accidents that disrupt supply chains. Local harvesters supply much of the sand used in residential builds, school projects and rural road works in Bungoma. Fatalities highlight the unregulated nature of the supply side, where demand from building sites fuels risky practices.

Authorities have not released names of the deceased or exact cause pending investigations. Police typically handle such cases, with possible involvement from the Ministry of Mining or county officials if licensing issues arise. The event underscores persistent challenges in regulating artisanal resource extraction while meeting construction material needs.