DCI arrest woman accused of lacing letters with toxic chemicals

Tracy Wairimu Ndegwa after her arrest. Photo: Courtesy.

34-year-old Tracy Wairimu Ndegwa was on Monday arrested for sending two threatening letters to a High Commission in Nairobi. The suspect is said to have sprayed one of the letters with an industrial chemical and the other with hay fever pesticide on July 31, 2020. In June, Wairimu had been charged with another terrorism hoax that targeted the Commissioner-General of the Kenya Prisons Service and has been out on cash bail.

One of the letters sent by Tracy Wairimu. Photo: Twitter.

She is in police custody pending arraignment at Kibera Law Courts once all necessary procedures are completed. According to research by the University of Nebraska, accidental exposure or overexposure to pesticides can have serious health implications. They can enter the body through three ways; absorption through the skin or eyes, orally and by breathing into the lungs. Respiratory exposure is particularly hazardous because pesticide particles can be rapidly absorbed by the lungs into the bloodstream. Pesticides can cause serious damage to the nose, throat, and lung tissue if inhaled in sufficient amounts. Vapours and very small particles pose the most serious risks.