By David Okuta | Nutritionist & Food, Nutrition and Dietetics Researcher
The reported deaths of 15 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem should concern every Kenyan not only because of the loss of wildlife, but because the incident raises uncomfortable questions about agriculture, pesticides, environmental health, nutrition and food safety.
Reports indicate that the elephants died following suspected poisoning. However, the precise cause and source remain subject to investigation, while farmers in the area have disputed claims linking the deaths to cyanide-contaminated tomatoes.
Therefore, this is not a call to blame farmers or declare that Kenyan tomatoes are unsafe.
It is a call for answers.
Could this be a food-safety warning?
Tomatoes are an important part of the Kenyan diet. They are consumed in homes, schools, restaurants, hospitals and institutions across the country.
But could tomatoes exposed to improperly used agricultural chemicals retain harmful residues?
Could farmers be applying pesticides too frequently or harvesting crops before the recommended pre-harvest interval?
Could contaminated irrigation water, soil or agricultural runoff introduce chemicals into our food chain?
Could wildlife consuming crops near farms be exposed to substances intended for pest control?
These questions are not hypothetical. A 2026 study examining tomatoes sold in Nairobi supermarkets and open-air markets documented the occurrence of pesticide residues, demonstrating why continued surveillance is important. This was done by the Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) in partnership with the University of Nairobi and SGS Kenya Laboratories, alongside support from the Route to Food Initiative and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, revealing that roughly 78% of tested market vegetables contained pesticide residues.
Kenya already has systems for pesticide-residue monitoring.
KEPHIS, for example, conducts analysis of agricultural produce, soil and irrigation water and monitors compliance with Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs).
So, are these systems adequately resourced?
Are samples being collected frequently enough?
Are informal markets receiving sufficient surveillance?
What happens when produce exceeds permitted residue limits?
How many farmers understand the correct dosage, application interval and pre-harvest period of the products they use?
And are consumers given enough information about the safety of the food they purchase?
Where does nutrition fit into this conversation?
As a nutritionist, I believe food safety cannot be separated from nutrition.
We often tell people to eat more fruits and vegetables and rightly so. They provide vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants and numerous bioactive compounds important for health.
But access to nutritious food must also mean access to safe food.
A tomato may be nutritionally valuable, but nutrition cannot be considered in isolation from chemical contamination, microbiological safety, environmental pollution and the way food is produced.
Food security without food safety is incomplete.
And food safety without environmental protection is equally incomplete.
This is where the One Health approach becomes important: human health, animal health and environmental health are interconnected.
Questions to our authorities
I therefore respectfully call upon KWS, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, KEPHIS, the Pest Control Products Board, county governments and other relevant agencies to provide the public with clear answers:
What exactly caused the elephant deaths?
Were food crops found at or near the affected areas tested?
Were tomatoes or other crops tested for pesticide and chemical residues?
Were soil and water sources tested?
Were the chemicals found in the elephants identified and traced to a particular source?
Are there any food-safety implications for communities living around the affected ecosystem?
How are pesticide residues being monitored in tomatoes and other commonly consumed vegetables across Kenya?
And finally:
What concrete measures are being taken to ensure that what we grow, sell and eat is not only nutritious, but also safe?
The solution cannot be to stop farming.
Farmers need pesticides when appropriately used, but we need responsible pesticide management.
We need stronger enforcement against illegal and inappropriate chemicals, better farmer training, routine residue testing, proper observance of pre-harvest intervals, safe disposal of pesticide containers, protection of water sources and greater investment in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and safer alternatives.
Kenya’s pesticide regulator already provides guidance on responsible pesticide use and food safety; the question is whether these measures are reaching every farmer and being effectively enforced.
The death of 15 elephants should therefore not become another headline that disappears after a few days.
It should become a national conversation about how we produce our food, how we protect biodiversity, and how we safeguard the health of generations to come.
Because the question is not simply:
“What killed the elephants?”
It is also:
“What is entering our food system, our environment and ultimately our bodies?”
We deserve answers. Our farmers deserve support. Our consumers deserve safe food. And our wildlife deserves protection.
One Health. One food system. One future.
— David Okuta
Nutritionist | Food, Nutrition & Dietetics Researcher
