Kiambu: 2 Dead, 7 Hospitalised After Consuming Unga Picked From Dumpsite In Thika

• A survivor, Sam Kioko, said they usually pick unga from the dumpsite and store it before sharing it amongst themselves
• Kioko said they took their share and went home, where they cooked ugali and, after finishing, started feeling differently
• He explained that he began having breathing difficulties and struggled to wake up from where he was sitting while eating

Kiambu - Two people have died after consuming contaminated flour picked from the Kang'oki dumpsite in Thika.

Seven others who reportedly ate ugali made from the poisonous floor are currently hospitalised at the Thika Level V Hospital, with one in critical condition.

Confirming the tragic incident Waruti Kibuti, in charge of the Thika Level V hospital, said eight people were brought to the facility with breathing difficulties.

Kibuti said most victims were under oxygen and being administered fluids as the hospital monitors them.

"I just want to confirm that this morning we received eight clients from the Kang'oki dumpsite to our casualty. So far, one of them is critically ill. Three are very sticky but four are stable and we are hoping for the best. Most of them that we received is that they came unconscious with breathing problems," Waruti said in press briefing outside the medical facility.

How did they end up eating toxic unga?

Simon Kioko, one of those who ate the ill-fated ugali, said after eating the ugali, they found it difficult to stand up as they struggled to breathe.

He explained that they collected the maize flour from the dumpsite on Saturday, August 12 and stored it until Tuesday, August 15, when they made ugali and ate together

A mother who lost her daughter to the incident narrated how she returned home to find her in critical condition.

She said that neighbours advised her to give the baby milk, but she gave her lots of water which she took and started vomiting.

The distraught mother added that the baby passed on moments after she brought her to the medical facility.

"I found my child on the bed sleeping, I turned her over and saw she was in a serious condition. Her sibling told me to feed give her milk. I gave her water, and she started vomiting, so I took her to the hospital. After a few hours of sleep there, the child died," she narrated.

School cook discovers poison in water

Elsewhere, police launched a manhunt for the suspect(s) who poisoned water at Munyeki Primary School.

The school's lifeline in the face of an imminent tragedy was the cook, who discovered that the water had been laced with poison as she went about her routine work.

She said she had opened the tap at one of the reservoirs, from which she observed an unusual foam in the water.

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Waruti Kibuti.

Kiambu: 2 Dead, 7 Hospitalised after Consuming Unga Picked from Dumpsite in Thika - Tuko.co.ke

Two dead, seven hospitalised after consuming maize flour they picked at a dumpsite in Thika