It has now emerged that the residents of Nairobi have, for a long time, been eating foods that have not been inspected by health officials.
Making the revelations, the Nairobi County Health Committee member, Manoah Mboku, explained that foods retailing at local restaurants have not undergone health inspection since early February this year. According to him, the anomaly has been attributed to lack of funds to facilitate the county's health officers to purchase reagents to conduct food tests.
Mboku noted that the city's business people have been paying cash to City Hall for the issuance of certificates but their foodstuffs never get tested at all.
He further revealed that the county government of Nairobi had in the past entered into a collaborative agreement with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), allowing the health agency to conduct food tests at the Lady Northey Health facility. However, Mboku added that the contract has been terminated as queries emerged on the deal. This made the oversight function of conducting tests on local foods be reverted back to the Nairobi city government.
Nairobi County Health executive, Benard Muia, has confirmed the termination of the contract between KEMRI and the county but explained that procurement of the lab and testing equipment was underway.
Kibera residents were very shocked by these revelations.
'' This is sad. We are just consuming poison and don't even realise,'' said Elsie Wandinda.
''This is very serious, we clearly need to be very careful of what it is we are consuming out there,'' said James.