It is over one year since doctors from Nairobi camped in Mpirani village in Magarini Sub-county, Kilifi County, and collected samples from hundreds of villagers with strange deformities.
The disability trait has remained undiagnosed and the villagers say they are losing hope in the exercise by the doctors to unravel the mystery behind the bizarre occurrence.
Magarini Disabilities Project, a local organisation that deals with disabilities in the county, estimates that the village has more than 1,000 people living with similar disabilities, most of them born with the condition.
It said that at least 250 people with similar disabilities have been registered with the organisation.
For instance, Ms Eunice Karisa, 28, said her last child was born in February 2023 with deformities.
"I attended all the prenatal clinics and I was assured that everything was okay but when I gave birth, I realised the baby was disabled," she said in an interview.
Her story is not different from that of 27-year-old Eunice Kadii who said her child living with disability has a lot of medical needs, hence making her unable to fend for herself.
"I used to visit clinics when carrying the pregnancy of my baby but during birth, I gave birth at home since it was at night and the nearest health facility was several kilometres away," said an emotional Kadii.
"The following day I went to the clinic with the baby and all was fine but after some time I realised that the other babies were lively but mine was not," she added.
She said that for two months her baby was fine, but she later found out that the baby had a problem. To date, Kadii has to be by her child's side every minute fending to her.
Ms Riziki Suweid gave birth to a bouncing baby girl at the Malindi Sub-county hospital 16 years ago, but problems started months later.
"I gave birth normally and after two weeks the baby looked very tiny. I came back home but the situation remained the same. I looked for help everywhere but I have not found a solution," she said.
She added that doctors visited the village in 2022 when the matter was first highlighted in the media but they have never received any results to show the cause of the disability trait.
Yesterday David Mulewa, Chief Officer for Health in the County, said he would consult before issuing a comprehensive statement on the issue.
"I don't know about those cases but I will consult and report back to you on Monday when I am back in office," he said. When the cases were first reported last year, the then County Executive Member (CECM) for Health in the County Charles Dadu commissioned research on the same.
He said Malindi Sub-County Hospital was notified about the issue and was carrying out research. He said the county will provide doctors to offer the victims therapy sessions, adding that the exercise would take between three to six months.
In another section of the village, Ms Jumwa Jefwa has been bedridden for 13 years. Her husband Kitsao Jefwa said it started as itching on her legs.
"She was healthy but the problem started as a small ailment and this is the 13th year with her condition. We have visited all hospitals and she is bedridden, she can't move on her own," he said.
The condition, he added, has left his family poor and with no hope since he cannot leave her unattended to go to work.
"There are people who come and take pictures of people living with disabilities in the village with the promise that we will get help but we have never received any help. Just a year ago some doctors came here and promised to unravel the cause of the disability trait in our village but they have never come back," he said.
Sumateni Charo, chairlady of the Magarini Disabilities Development Project, a local Community Based Organisation (CBO) that caters to the welfare of people living with disability said the community has remained poor and stagnant due to the illness.
"We have more than 1,000 victims but those under my care are 265 in the CBO, the situation is heartbreaking and the government should bring us the results after doctors come here to collect samples," she said.
Ms Charo now wants a special school built for those affected in the area, and for the victims to get a stipend from the government.
"I recommend that the next Day of Disability be held in this village so that we can also be known. I don't know what is happening in this village because almost all homesteads have babies born with deformities. Some have four, some five, but we don't know the cause," she said.
Mombasa lawyer Carolyne Chilango has challenged the government to move with speed and provide the report of their findings on the disability so that residents can come up with suitable remedies.
"Last year when we visited, we saw the agony faced by families and we pushed the Ministry of Health to carry out research, but it is now more than one year. We request a speedy investigation on the matter so that the villagers can get a solution," she said.
