Child dies, four hospitalised after eating poisonous cassava

Villager mill outside home of the family that ate poisonous cassava killing one child in Butere on Friday

A 16-year-old boy died while four of his siblings were admitted to Butere Sub-county Hospital after reportedly eating poisonous cassava.

It is reported the family of eight from Eshiaka village had boiled the cassava for lunch. “My wife had visited her parents at Shikunga and came with the cassava which we all ate for lunch,” said Wycliffe Meriakao.

But at around 9pm, five of the six children started complaining of stomach pains and were all vomiting and had diarrhoea.

Meriakao, not knowing what the problem was, reached out to neighbours for painkillers but lost his eldest son in the process. Meriakao said the boy was the first to complain of stomach pains. 

Meriako, with the assistance of neighbours, rushed the other children to hospital. The parents and one of the children did not show any signs of illness even though they had the same meal.

Doctors at the facility said the four children were out of danger but required close observation. Area assistant chief Titus Misiko said investigations into the incident had been launched.

It is not the first time cassava meal has killed people in various parts of the country. In 2016, four children died in Uhuru Village, Siaya County after eating poisonous cassava.

 In 2017, an 11-year-old girl died in Machakos County, while two children succumbed to the poison in Ugunja, Siaya County, in January this year.