The Minister of State for Primary Health Care, Joyce Moriku Kaducu has advised Members of Parliament to take precaution of what they eat or drink, explaining that her six-month long illness was a result of poison.
The Minister made the confirmation on Thursday while appreciating Parliament and fellow legislators for the care and support that they rendered to her during the time when she was battling the ailments.
“As a piece of advice to Members, let’s take care of ourselves. Know what you eat, where you eat and with whom you eat. Yes, it is true the situation began with food poisoning but later indeed foreign elements were found in my body,” Kaducu said.
She added; “All the tests that were done from the different hospitals didn’t come with any natural cause of the illness”.
Kaducu’s submissions followed remarks by the Dokolo district MP, Cecilia Ogwal who expressed worry about the increasing trend of poisoning legislators. She too advised fellow MPs to be cautious.
Ogwal was welcoming the Minister Joyce Moriku Kaducu who has been bed ridden since November last year. She had been airlifted to Nairobi, Kenya to receive special treatment.
Ogwal said that complaints of poisoning Members of Parliament were first brought to the attention of the Speaker’s office and the matter was concealed due to the fear of damaging the institution of Parliament before the public.
But recently, two MP including Christopher Kalemba (Kakuto County) and a critically ill Geoffrey Dhamuzungu (Budiope East) were both alleged to have been poisoned.
“Reports of food poisoning or poisoning are not new in this Parliament. There was a time when reports were made to the Speaker about the attempted poisoning of some of our colleagues, but the matter was concealed thinking it would embarrass Parliament,” Ogwal said.
“But however much it embarrasses us, let’s talk about it,” she told fellow MPs.
According to Ogwal, it is better to put the issue in the limelight and establish how the legislators are being poisoned as well as what can be done to arrest it.
“We decided to eat from our own restaurant but now it is proving true that even the environment that we live in is not safe,” she said.
She added; “It is important that we know the administration of our restaurant, the people who handle our food. We should not take things for granted, we should take precautions to make sure that we take care of our lives”.