By Reuben Mwambingu @reubenmwambingu
Shady mango trees and canopies of towering coconut trees in Mwaweche village, Likoni constituency, depict a balmy serenity. As you stroll around, you get a feeling of a peaceful and inviting environment.
But alas! This is not the case. Beyond the walls within this neighbourhood are occupants whose faces bear tinges and creases of consternation.
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The residents claim to unwillingly share a reasonable amount of their blood with bedbugs for years now, despite efforts to keep it a secret and “hide their shame.”
And for the ‘well-to-do’, the usually embarrassing scenario is talked about in hushed tones, as it is associated with dirt and poverty. The belief that bedbugs are attracted to people with a particular blood type has worsened the situation.
“Huku huwa twasema kama kunguni wamekaa kwako sana, basi uko na damu ya kukunguni na hakuna mtu atakubali kuhusishwa na kitu kama hicho (Here we normally say if bedbugs stay for too long in your home, then you have bedbug blood, which nobody wants to be associated with),” says Aisha Ahmed, a resident.
No peaceful sleep
But the infestation is no longer a secret for Mwaweche residents. They claim the bedbugs have persistently caused havoc for more than five years, with the situation gradually going from bad to worse.
It is alleged that the nocturnal insects demonstrate an unusual stubbornness in their itchy business as they have literally refused to go away despite repeated efforts by affected residents to fumigate their homes.
“These insects have become a real problem. But the most shocking is that they seem resistant to all insectcides we have used. Once we fumigate, they stay away just for a short time, but come back in less than a month,” says Riziki Ali, a mother of six.
Riziki says her husband Khalid Hamisi, a village elder, has convened several meetings with residents together with the area chief to discuss the menace but they are yet to get a lasting solution.
Inside the elder’s house, bedbugs have infested virtually all the corners of the three bedrooms. During the day, they hide in corners and joints of the furniture and cracks on the walls as they wait for dusk to ravenously feast on their hosts.
Riziki’s neighbour, Mwanakame Hamadi says her children’s school performance has continued to dwindle over time because of persistent lack of enough sleep.
“Immediately you go to bed and switch off the lights, they begin working on you.
You feel them all over your body and they stay for hours.
We begin sleeping from around 2.00am. My children wake up sleepy and are clearly tired,” Hamadi adds.
Failed attempts
Consequently, bedding are almost always seen outside most homes in an apparent attempt by the residents to get rid of the insects by exposing them to sun.
However, concerned villagers have pointed an accusing finger at area leadership for allegedly playing deaf to the plight, as “no leader has bothered to help them escape the menace.”
“Both county and national government have not handled this issue with the seriousness it deserves because whenever we seek help from the leaders, we are always taken left, right and back with no results. When I first approached them, they told us to form a group so that we can be helped. Then they told us to go to Public Health Department, but the pesticides we were given were not helpful,” says Issah Seif, a local youth leader and founder of Mwaweche Youth Focus.
Residents want the infestation to be treated with seriousness similar to that of other disease outbreaks such as cholera, chikungunya and dengue fever that are known to have caused problems in the county. “In the beginning, we used to look at it as an embarrassment and we would talk about it in hushed tones. Now, we see it as a disaster and we have stopped shying away from speaking about it,” Seif adds.
The situation in Mwaweche, affecting more than 100 families, could, however, be just a tip of the iceberg. Similar situation befalls Likoni, Kisauni, Mvita and Changamwe, which have been singled out as hotspots of bedbug infestation.
Unfortunately, the messy public service vehicles, believed to be conduits of bedbugs to various homesteads, has compounded the situation further. Health executive, Hazel Koitaba raises concerns over poor hygiene in most PSVs. She says the county is contemplating on subjecting such vehicles to mandatory fumigation to bring the menace to a halt.
It is against this backdrop that County Public health Chief Officer, Aisha Abubakar, recently convened a meeting with Mombasa-based Matatu owners to embark of fumigation of PSV vehicles in Changamwe and Likoni.
