SIAYA - Three sisters die after eating poisonous cassava

Three girls died in Siaya County on Friday evening after eating poisonous cassava for lunch.

Four others are admitted in hospital as a result of consuming the tuber.

The deceased are said to have eaten the cassava meal prepared while their parents were away. They are Esther Achieng, 6, Jacqueline Akoth, 3, and Violet Auma, 2.

Jacqueline died at the home while Violet and Esther died in hospital.

The ones who were hospitalised are Caroline Adhiambo, Joyce Atieno, her two-year-old daughter Nicole Atieno and Rebecca Awuor.

They were admitted at Sagam Community Hospital and are reported to be in stable condition.

Mrs Jessica Got, the mother of the deceased children, said she had never witnessed something of that nature before.

Jina sub-location assistant chief Charles Yinda said the girls’ parents had gone to the nearby Luanda market when the incident happened.

The administrator explained that the victims fetched the cassava from their farm which they cooked for a late lunch meal because they had nothing to eat.

“After eating, they started complaining of stomach pains and the alarm they raised attracted neighbours who rushed them to hospital,” Mr Yinda said, adding that the family faces financial problems.

The sub-chief said that samples of the killer cassava had been taken to the government chemist for analysis and warned residents to be careful on the variety of tuber that they consume.

Area police boss Peter Musyoki said the bodies of the deceased children have been moved to Yala Sub-District Hospital for postmortem.