The Chinese have been largely blamed for the death of many elephants because vast ivory market; now it looks like it has launched a new market for sand, surprisingly enough they are harvesting the sand for free at our beautiful Diani beach.
As a country we stand to loose our pride, as diani beach has been featured as one of the 50 best beaches in Africa. Kenyans have not take this lightly. and have taken to social media in protest save Diani beach from claims of illegal sand harvesting and illegal dumping.
The matter which was brought to public attention by Mohamed Hersi who wrote:
“Mr President @UKenyatta allow me now to bring this matter to your personal attention. We want development . We want a better port but not at the expense of our God given award winning Diani Beach where sand harvesting is happening in Tiwi & dumping in less than 8NM.”
In subsequent tweets he shared photos of what appeared to be illegal dumping and sand harvesting allegedy taken from near the beach.
A photo shared by a user on Twitter amidst claims of illegal damping and sand harvesting by Chinese contractors at Diani beach that has angered Kenyans
#Stopsandharvesting Your Ex @UKenyatta dumping is ongoing right now 12:39Hrs. It is supposed to be a minimum distance of 8NM which is 14.8KM . Does this look like 14.8KM from Mama Ngina Drive? @JamesMacharia_ @tunajibu @KTF_Kenya we want the law to be respected by @NemaKenya.
Netizens were quick in urging the relevant authorities not to nallow rogue Chinese contractors get away with questionable and illegal practices.
Lorna Irungu wrote: “Wow, this is @magicalkenya we need action to be done. First it’s our wildlife now it’s our beaches? We keep selling of our future generations future for what? This is unacceptable.”
Diani was ranked as the Second best beach in Africa in a 2018 ranking by Flightnetwork.com, an online travel publication.
Claims of illegal damping and sand harvesting by Chinese contractors at Diani beach anger Kenyans
Mombasa, Watamu, Chale Island and Shela beaches also featured in the Top 50 African Beaches Category.
The pristine Diani beach could be no more if urgent action is not taken to address the allegations of sand harvesting and illegal dumping by Chinese contractors.
By the time of going to press, relevant state agencies were yet to comment on the issue.