Information on social media over the ownership of the vehicle that distributed contaminated foodstuff is not true, Kiambu county commissioner Wilson Wanyanga has said.
Speaking in Kiambu town on Wednesday, Wanyanga said social media is being used negatively to taint names as investigations continue. The administrator also dismissed as false, information that he had confirmed the owner of the vehicle.
“People can write anything on social media and I can confirm that investigations are still ongoing. No one has been arrested or linked to the food. Even those who received the foodstuffs said they did not note the registration of the car. I do not know whom the vehicle belongs to,” he said.
He said the Kenya Bureau of Standards is yet to release the results of samples of the foodstuffs taken to the government laboratory for analysis.
“It is very dangerous for people to receive food from people they do not know, but the people in Kikuyu had faith with the food that was allegedly contaminated since it was branded deputy president and their MP,” Wanyanga said.
Twelve people are said to be hospitalised, according to Governor James Nyoro, after they consumed the donations distributed by unknown persons on Sunday in Karai and Nachu areas in Kikuyu constituency.
The packaging of the foodstuffs bore the names of Deputy President William Ruto and Kikuyu Town MP Kimani Ichung'wa.
Victims complained of stomach and headaches and inflammation of the tongue and throat after consuming the food.
Residents of Gikambura, Nachu and Karai who had picked the foodstuffs have since returned the donations to their chiefs.
Wanyanga said police are on a manhunt for the perpetrators and are yet to file a report on the progress.
He added that food donations to the county should follow the same chain set up by the county government and be known by the county leaders.
“Those affected were rushed to the hospital, treated and discharged, but I am yet to be given their analysis from the medical team.”
He, however, said he can confirm that the packages had been branded Ruto’s and the Ichung’wa Foundation’s names.
“The MP has come forward and said the foodstuffs are not his. Investigators will decide who the vehicle belongs, who bought the food and whether the food is contaminated.”
County criminal investigating officer Jeremiah Kinga Ikiao said a search is still on for the Toyota Land Cruiser.
Medical personnel at Kiambu Level 5 Hospital who requested anonymity told the Star that there are no patients of food poisoning admitted as the hospital suspended admission both in Kiambu and Tigoni facilities.
“On Monday, there seems to have been no patient brought with food poisoning. If there is, it was not serious and they were probably given medicine and sent home,” they said.
Edited by R.Wamochie