Shock, grief and fears have engulfed Urudi village, in Nyakach, Kisumu County.
This follows the mysterious death of over 100 cattle on Tuesday night.
Resident woke up to shocking scenes of animals lying dead in the sheds with no physical injuries.
Public Health officials suspect cases of pasture poisoning.
The dead animals look healthy and no physical injury detected. So far over 90 animals are confirmed dead
Michael Ochieng
Michael Ochieng, a Public Health Officer in the area said the incident was being investigated.
“We ask residents not to consume the meat from the dead cows,” he said.
Ochieng added; “The dead animals look healthy and no physical injury detected. So far over 90 animals are confirmed dead.”
Ongoing drought
Residents say due to the ongoing drought, they are forced to look for pasture in far areas.
Samwel Mola, a resident and a community leader said over 30 homes had been affected.
“Every home in the village has a case of a dead cow. This is shocking,” he said.
In 2018, a similar incident happened in the area with over 150 cows reported dead.
Mr Mola says the matter must now be sorted once and for all.
“These are our sources of income, and such a loss is unimaginable,” he said.
As at the time of going to press, Rangul Location had recorded at least 41 deaths while the neighbourng Asao location had 57 deaths.
Several other animals were still gasping for air, with residents fearing that more could die.
The government officials visited the grazing site to collect samples of the pasture for test, in a bid to investigate poisoning.
The incident has left villagers disturbed trying to come to terms with the happening as all the animals returned home from grazing field healthy.
Government officials from both Kisumu and Kericho Counties are on the ground conducting further investigations.
The locals have been advised to avoid buying meet in the area over fears that unscrupulous traders could sneak in meet from the dead animals.
