Jackline Adhiambo returned from the gold mines of Gem Wagai expecting a warm welcome, not a house of horrors. Instead of a quiet family evening, the 35-year-old artisanal miner walked into a scene that has left Kanyameno Village paralyzed by grief and suspicion.

Her husband, 74-year-old Ernest Ojigo Olum, lay groaning on the floor, foaming at the mouth. Beside him, their five-year-old son, John Otieno, writhed in agony. Both would be dead within hours, victims of a supper that turned fatal, while three other family members fight for their lives at Bondo Sub-County Hospital.

This is not just a tragedy of accidental contamination; it is a developing mystery that points to the dark underbelly of rural land conflicts.

A Deadly Dinner

The nightmare began on Wednesday night in South West Gem location. The family had sat down to a modest meal of ugali and cowpea leaves—popularly known as kunde. Jackline, who had been toiling at the mines, arrived late to find the chaos unfolding.

“It was a scary scene,” Jackline recounted, her voice heavy with the shock of a wife who lost her partner and child in one fell swoop. “My instincts told me it must be poisoning.”

Desperate neighbors rushed to the homestead, administering a traditional first-aid remedy of raw eggs to induce vomiting. While their quick thinking may have bought time for the survivors, it was too late for Ernest and little John. They succumbed before they could receive specialized care.

The three survivors—daughters Deborah Adhiambo (19) and Val Adhiambo (2), along with niece Deborah Auma (19)—were evacuated to Bondo Sub-County Hospital. Hospital administrators confirmed to Streamline News that the trio is responding well to treatment, a small mercy in a devastating week.

Accident or Malice?

While food safety is a perennial concern in Kenya—where uninspected crops can sometimes carry lethal bacteria—this case has taken a sinister turn. The family does not believe this was a simple case of bad flour.

Ezekiel Ojigo, the deceased’s eldest son, has pointed a finger at a long-standing family feud. He alleged that the deaths might be linked to an ongoing dispute over ancestral land, a conflict currently winding its way through the courts.

“We suspect the maize flour used in making the ugali might have been poisoned,” noted West Gem Location Chief Susan Akoth, acknowledging the family's fears. In many parts of rural Kenya, land disputes are emotive and occasionally violent, turning neighbors into enemies and, tragically, family dinners into crime scenes.

The Investigation Begins

Gem Wagai Sub-County Police Commander Benson Pamba confirmed that detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have taken over the case. Officers have collected samples of the leftover ugali and kunde for toxicological analysis.

The bodies of Ernest and John have been moved to the Bondo Sub-County Hospital Mortuary, awaiting post-mortem results that will determine whether this was a bacterial tragedy or a calculated double homicide.

For Jackline Adhiambo, the “why” matters less right now than the “who.” She is left with two empty chairs at her table and a haunting question: Was her family collateral damage in a war over soil?

“Had I joined them for that meal,” she whispered, “I would not be here to tell you this story.”