Senators unleash anti-graft detectives to trace millions in stolen revenue as the "Sand Barons" of Kitui bleed the county dry.

The Senate has declared war on the shadowy syndicates plundering Kitui’s rivers, ordering the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to immediately investigate the rampant theft of sand harvesting revenue that is costing the taxpayer millions daily.

This directive is not just an audit query; it is an indictment of a systemic rot where county officials and rogue brokers have allegedly formed a "cess cartel." With revenue collection plummeting despite a booming trade that sees hundreds of trucks departing for Nairobi daily, the Senate’s intervention exposes the dark underbelly of resource exploitation that threatens both the county’s coffers and its fragile ecosystem.

The Cess Heist Exposed

The Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) was left stunned by the sheer scale of the plunder. During a heated grilling session, it emerged that while between 10 to 20 heavy-duty trucks—each carrying tonnes of river sand—exit Kitui daily, the official revenue books remain suspiciously light. Each truck is mandated to pay a cess of Sh5,000, yet this cash is vanishing into the pockets of a well-connected ring rather than the county treasury.

The math is simple, but the theft is complex. If 20 trucks pay Sh5,000 each, the county should be banking Sh100,000 daily from this single stream. Instead, reports indicate that receipts are being forged, or cash is being collected at illegal roadblocks manned by county enforcement officers who act as gatekeepers for the cartels. "This is not just negligence; it is organized crime," a committee member remarked. "The people of Kitui are losing their heritage and their revenue simultaneously."

• The Ghost Trucks: Audit queries revealed that license plate recognition cameras often "malfunction" exactly when convoys of sand trucks pass through, creating a digital black hole.
• The Environmental Toll: Beyond the stolen cash, the unregulated harvesting is stripping riverbeds bare, leading to water scarcity in an already arid region. The cartel cares for profit, not the drying aquifers.
• The EACC Mandate: The anti-graft body has been given a strict timeline to "follow the money," identify the beneficiaries of the illegal cess collection, and prosecute the masterminds, no matter how high up they sit in the county government.

A County Under Siege

For the residents of Kitui, this probe is long overdue. For years, they have watched as their rivers are scooped away by lorries destined for construction sites in Nairobi and Thika, leaving behind dust and dried wells. The disconnect between the visible wealth of the "sand barons"—who flaunt new cars and build mansions—and the poverty of the villagers guarding the rivers is a stark reminder of the inequality fueling this trade.

The Governor’s administration now faces a litmus test. Will they cooperate with the EACC to root out the rot within their own enforcement department, or will the "sand mafia" prove too powerful to touch? The Senate has drawn the line in the sand, and this time, they are demanding heads, not just explanations.