Farm workers are falling sick in a Kenyan horticultural town. Were they poisoned by pesticides?

Timau’s industry has provided local Kenyans with an economic lifeline. But now, many believe it has made them seriously ill

When Reuben Muriki fainted while doing a chore in the compound of his home near the horticultural town of Timau in central Kenya several years ago, it marked the start of a series of increasingly serious health episodes.

His joints became swollen, his skin became discoloured and he found breathing difficult. He was in and out of hospital, and was forced to quit his work as a pesticide sprayer at a flower farm. Doctors treated him for suspected tuberculosis in vain.