A chief from Migori County found himself on the wrong side of the 'law', after public health officers surveying his area found out he did not have a pit latrine in his own home.
The administrator at Nyandago-Koweru location Henry Olima, was arrested after the officers sensitizing locals on cholera and the importance of proper hygiene, established that Mr Olima was not leading by example.
“It is unfortunate that the area chief who should rally people to construct latrines to avert health related diseases like cholera does not have a latrine. He has been saying that he is immune by virtue of being a chief and has been inciting locals not to construct toilets,” Nyatike Public Health Officer James Oguk was quoted by the Standard.
The anti-cholera campaign in Chief Olima's locale followed rampant cases of cholera that had been reported.
His area, Nyandago-Koweru location, was reported to have the least number of sanitation facilities in the region, with a coverage of only 40-percent.
“The whole constituency has toilet coverage of 55 per cent at the moment. But we realised Nyandago-Koweru location had the lowest number of latrines. So when we sought to find out why, we found out that the person supposed to help implement the directive did not have a latrine either,” Oguk stated.
Chief Olima was taken to Macalder Police Post where he was released on a Sh5,000 bond. He is expected to appear before the court on Tuesday.
