Kenyan in Canada charged over poisoning death of three-year-old

A 45-year-old Kenyan man has been charged in Canada with poisoning two children, one of whom died from a poisonous substance in her cereal.

Francis Ngugi was arrested on Sunday and charged with two counts of administering a noxious substance to endanger life, two counts of unlawfully causing bodily harm and one count of criminal negligence causing death.

Authorities say three-year-old Bernice Nantanda Wamala was sleeping over at her friend’s house in March when the two children were given poison-laced cereal.

Wamala’s mother, Maurine Mirembe, told CTV News that both children reacted to the cereal, leading to vomiting and, eventually, a hospital visit.

Wamala was treated for the substance but, after some time on life support, died at the hospital while her three-year-old friend survived.

“Both children required hospitalisation. One of the children, due to consumption of the cereal, died in hospital. The other child recovered after a lengthy hospital stay,” Detective Matthew Wighton said in a statement on Monday.

Mr Ngugi is a former boyfriend of the surviving toddler’s mother, the Toronto Sun reported. The two reportedly broke up a month before the girls were poisoned, but remained friends.

Toronto police say Mr Ngugi obtained a controlled substance from his place of work and put it into a package of Golden Morn cereal, which the two girls took for breakfast on the morning of March 7 after their sleepover at the surviving child’s house.

A months-long investigation by police and the Ontario Coroner’s Office culminated in the arrest of Mr Ngugi on Sunday after it was established that the cereal was deliberately contaminated.

Mr Ngugi remains in custody awaiting a bail hearing.

The controlled substance was found to be nitrite, which is used as a preservative in cured meats and other foods. Overexposure to nitrites can lead to methemoglobinemia, a condition in which the body is deprived of oxygen.

Wamala lived with her mother Ms Mirembe, who is of Ugandan origin, in the same building where she had the sleepover on March 6.

“She was healthy, happy, and dancing on Saturday, then the next day she’s gone,” the mother told the Toronto Sun.

After arriving to collect her, Ms Mirembe said she noticed that her daughter was weak, with grey fingers and lips.

With Ms Mirembe’s friend, the two ended up driving Bernice to the hospital when police and paramedics allegedly failed to show up after the mother called 911.

“Losing a child under any circumstance is an unfathomable loss,” Toronto Paramedic Services said in a statement to the Star. “Toronto Paramedic Services is unable to comment on this specific 911 call due to patient privacy legislation.”

Ms Mirembe has started a GoFundMe account to raise money for her daughter’s funeral. She has raised more than double the Sh2 million ($20,000) goal.