Kakamega County Government on Wednesday, May 3, revealed that it was transporting contaminated cereals from Mukumu Girls High School to be incinerated in Mombasa.
What raised eyebrows was the fact that the county government was spending Ksh800,000 for the whole exercise.
Defending the move, a multi-agency team that had been formed by Governor Fernandes Barasa announced that this was the cheapest alternative.
“We are taking the cereals to Mombasa at Bamburi Cement Company because they volunteered as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),” the team stated.
Kakamega County administration revealed that the second option had been the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) at Kisumu.
“We decided not to opt for the KEMRI, Kisumu branch because we have 73 tonnes of food items that need to be incinerated.
“The incinerator at Kisumu can only burn one tonne a day meaning that it would have taken 73 days to finish the exercise,” the county defended its decision to opt for Mombasa.
Bamburi Cement Company has an industrial incinerator and the operation will be completed in a maximum of two days.
Barasa remarked that there was a need to have the food destroyed in an incinerator.
“For accountability purposes, I want to assure the public that the maize and the beans that were contaminated are now going to be destroyed professionally, and in compliance with National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) procedures,” the governor assured Kenyans.
The food which was packed in 800 bags was escorted by armed security officers to Mombasa.
Teachers and parents from Mukumu Girls' and representatives from Kakamega County Government also accompanied the consignment.
The contaminated food was determined to have caused a bacterial illness, leading to the death of three students and a senior teacher who doubled as boarding mistress.
Following the outbreak, the Ministry of Health closed the school after at least 246 students were hospitalised with vomiting, diarrhoea and dizziness.
The students are expected to report back to school on Monday, May 8.
