A family from Najofu village in Kabuchai constituency, Bungoma is mourning the Saturday morning death of two children from suspected food poisoning.
The children's grandfather, father and another child are recuperating at Bungoma Referral Hospital where they were rushed to by neighbours.
The family had had a breakfast meal of beans and sweet potatoes, locally known as kumukhenya, prepared by their grandmother. She did not eat the meal.
The children, aged three and six began to vomit and diarrhoea as they complained of stomach pains an hour after eating the meal.
Evans Juma, the father of the children, said that they woke up in the morning and found his mother had prepared tea and kumukhenya.
“She offered some to us and we ate it. Afterwards, my body began to feel very weak and I began to vomit,” he said.
He said that he also noticed that the children were also vomiting and rushing to the toilet several times.
“One of the children fainted and we decided to rush him to Bukembe Dispensary. The other child also looked unwell and was gnashing his teeth,” he said.
He said that he did not know what had been put in the food that caused such a reaction.
Juma's brother Wabwile wa Barasa said that he was called on Saturday and told that his brother went to their mother's house and took some food that had led to the death of his two nephews.
“We have never seen such a thing and we do not know what really happened as she has always prepared this meal for us,” he said.
Medics from Bungoma Referral Hospital took samples of the food to the Government Chemist for testing and toxicological analysis.
Bungoma county commissioner Stephen Kihara said that police have begun investigating the incident.
He asked residents to be patient as they try to unravel the cause of the deaths.
The bodies of the two children were taken to Bungoma Referral Hospital mortuary.
BRIAN OJAMAA/The Star
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