Narok senator, Ledama Ole Kina, on Thursday, April 20, compelled the Senate to probe the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Ministry of Health over the mysterious disease at Mukumu Girls High School.
While speaking in Parliament, the lawmaker acknowledged that contaminated water was a source of the bacterial infection at the school in Kakamega County, where three students and a teacher passed away.
He argued that NIS could have intel on the contamination of water sources in the country, aiding detectives to fast-track investigations.
"The level of toxicity in water in Kamamega County should worry us.
"I am a member of the Health Committee, and I hope we shall delve further and investigate whether the Ministry of Health and, to a greater extent, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had details of the metals that exist underneath," he stated.
According to the senator, water contamination could be witnessed through discolouring residents' teeth in several counties.
He asserted that the menace could have been caused by the increased use of pesticides - used during farming.
"There are a lot of spillages that destroy our water. I would expect that in schools such as that in Kakamega, there would be investments in the water system," he stated.
The senator also sought to know why the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) did not offer dental cover despite the rising cases of discoloured teeth.
Mukumu Girls, alongside three other schools in the country, were closed after over 100 students were hospitalised.
In its preliminary report, the Ministry of Health determined that the infection at Mukumu Girls was caused by consuming contaminated water.
"The Ministry of Health took several water, food and human tissue samples, from which preliminary laboratory investigations undertaken have revealed Enterotoxigenic E. coli and Salmonella typhi as the causes of the illness," read the statement in part.
Consequently, the Ministry advised schools and residents to practice hygiene when using water through measures such as boiling water before drinking and washing hands with running water.
