This archive report was first published on 20 August 2019.
On August 17, 2019, a dowry negotiation ceremony in Ruirii village, Nyeri County, took a devastating turn when four people died shortly after feasting on the bounties.
Among the deceased was the mother of the would-be groom, while ten others were admitted to different hospitals with symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting.
Seven of the ten victims were hospitalized at Karemenu Health Centre, while three others were admitted to Kenyatta National Hospital and Mama Lucy Hospital in Nairobi.
At least 60 people from the village were attended to by medical officers for food poisoning-related complications.
Area MCA, Joseph Maina, who was among those who consumed the contaminated food, said that most people who attended the function on Saturday started complaining of stomach problems and diarrhoea.
‘I am among the victims and medical tests show that it was food poisoning,’ said Mr Maina.
Nyeri County head of public health, Peter Wamai, said that samples from the victims were taken for further analysis at the Nyeri Referral Hospital.
‘We cannot conclude on the actual cause of the deaths. What we know so far is that the victims ate contaminated food,’ said Wamai.
