By John Majau
Grief engulfed Tumbura area in Tharaka South sub county, Tharaka Nithi county after a Standard 8 boy died after allegedly consuming poisonous wild honey with his mate and an elderly man.
His mate was hospitalized at Marimanti Level Four Hospital for treatment while the elderly man, said to have given the two boys the honey after harvesting, was treated at Kibunga Sub-County Hospital.
“The Standard 8 boy died after allegedly consuming poisonous wild honey while another was hospitalized. The honey was reportedly given by the elderly man who had harvested it from a tree locally known as muthigu. Police have already launched investigations over the incident,” said Turima Location Chief Philip Mutugi.
He warned the locals against consuming wild honey popularly known as nchuura which is made by a species of smaller bees that do not sting and mainly live in hollow trees or abandoned holes in the ground locally known as tuchuura.
The honey is highly sought after by pastoralists while locals believe that when eaten raw, it is medicinal.
Cases of deaths caused by consuming wild honey in Tharaka constituency is on the increase with minors being the main victims.
In August 2022, two children died and 19 adults from Rukaani village in Tharaka North sub-county were treated in the same health facility after reportedly consuming nchuura which had been harvested by loggers who had cut a tree for timber.
In the previous month, two people from Kiaruni village in Tharaka South sub-county also died and eight others treated at the same hospital after consuming the same nchuura.
In July 2021, three people from Muguruka village in Turima location died and four others treated at the same hospital after reportedly consuming a brew made from common honey locally known as uki.
The incident came just a day after a seven-year-old boy in Gichiini village, Tharaka North sub-county died and four others successfully treated at a hospital in Mukothima after consuming uki.
In the previous month, two family members from Riamikui village in the same sub-county died and another successfully treated at Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital after reportedly consuming the poisonous honey.
