17 tons of allegedly contaminated cereals were ferried from Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School in Kakamega County on Wednesday evening for destruction in Mombasa.
The Western Regional Commissioner, Irungu Macharia and Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa, flagged off a truck loaded with the foodstuff for destruction at Bamburi Cement Factory starting on Friday morning.
The cargo included mainly maize and beans that health experts declared unfit for human consumption and attributed it to be the cause of a strange stomach ailment that claimed lives of three students and their teacher.
The girls have been laid to rest while the teacher, Juliana Mujema, was buried yesterday at her home in Bungoma County.
Macharia and Barasa dismissed claims by some leaders from the area that the foodstuff was headed for the market and would not reach Mombasa.
Senator Boni Khalwale, who was missing when the cargo was being seen off, claimed the maize was being sneaked out and sold to unsuspecting members of the public in local markets.
Dr. Khalwale insisted that they should witness the destruction of the foodstuff while accusing some people of profiting from the health crisis that befell the institution located in Shinyalu Constituency, along the Kakamega-Kisumu Highway.
“We are reliably informed that part of the contaminated maize was being stolen and sneaked by police officers deployed to provide security at the school. So our people should be careful when purchasing maize at, specifically Khayega and Musoli markets,” he alleged.
The senator, in the company of some parents and locals, attempted to storm the school last week but were repulsed by security personnel.
“The reason we resolved to have the foodstuff destroyed at Bamburi Cement is because the company has a powerful incinerator that will burn all the 17 tons in two days. We tried to approach KALRO in Kakamega and Kisumu but they said their incinerators only had the capacity to burn 10 bags per day which could translate to 73 days to complete,” said Macharia.
He pointed out that the national government would spend Ksh 800,000 towards the entire exercise.
“We have enlisted a group of people including politicians, parents, some members from the local community, education stakeholders, et cetera, who are accompanying the truck in different vehicles to ensure that the cargo reaches Bamburi then they witness the destruction before they return. So there is no foul play,” the regional commissioner added.
Mukumu Girls is set for reopening on Monday after it was shut down on April 3, 2023 following an outbreak of the strange illness.
By Denis Lumiti
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