Hero school cook saves pupils from poisoned water
A cook saved the lives of hundreds of pupils at Mwara Primary School on Tuesday after he noticed that the water reserved for cooking was contaminated and stopped its usage.
Kiharu sub-county public health officer Milka Njenga confirmed that the water, harvested from rain and stored in a tank, had been poisoned.
Samples have been sent to a government laboratory to ascertain the substance added to the water.
School headteacher Mr Julius Githae said the cook, Mary Wanjiru had noticed that the water was milky and emitted bad odour.
The cook is normally the first to arrive at the school to cook for nursery pupils and teachers.
“Upon receiving the news from the cook, I notified the education officials, the administration officials and officers from the public health department to come and witness the incident,” Mr Githae said.
Teachers and pupils were immediately instructed not to use water from the tank.
The tank has only one tap which is operated in the kitchen.
SAMPLES
Health officer Ms Njenga said they have sent samples to the laboratory to establish the nature of the poison.
She advised the school’s management to pour all the water from the tank as they wait for test results.
“We have collected samples to determine which chemical was used to poison the water. In the meantime we advise the management to pour all the water until we advise them further,” said Ms Njenga.
She said the outcome of the tests will be out after 72 hours.
Acting Kahuro Deputy County Commissioner Mr Amos Onsare codemned the act saying they have launched investigations to establish who could be the mastermind of the heinous act.
He urged members of public with any lead to volunteer information to help police unearth the perpetrators of the act.