This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
Published on November 14, 2019, two sisters from Kiboji village in Mosop, Nandi County, have been eating bar soap for years, leaving medical experts baffled.
Sharon Chepchirchir, 24, and Lydia Chepkemboi, 17, have been consuming soap since childhood, with Sharon admitting to eating soap for 19 years.
According to Sharon, her mother would beat her up and put pepper on the soap, but she would still find another bar to eat. She would usually eat a piece of Lido bar soap, which costs Sh20, or a Sh50 Geisha daily.
Lydia later developed similar cravings, and the sisters would enjoy eating soap together.
Doctors at Oak Tree Hospital in Eldoret have taken four samples of soap to a lab at the University of Eldoret for chemical analysis.
‘We have the two sisters here. We have done a series of tests on them and we will be doing more. We really want to get to the genesis of this habit,’ said one of the doctors.
