Pet food 'better than death'

Kenyans reacting to an offer from New Zealand of dog food to save hungry children have said that they would rather eat dog food than starve to death.

"It is better to eat dog's meat than succumb to death," said Thomas Oddo, who recently lost a child because of starvation.

His comment followed an offer from New Zealand dog food manufacturer Christine Drummond who wants to send food to hungry children on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria.

Parents of some of the children said leaders opposed to the offer were only satisfying their personal egos at the expense of starving millions in the country.

"That dogs' food would save the lives of the malnourished children," said James Ochieng, speaking on behalf of the parents on Rusinga Island.

The parents claimed that some senior officials in the Kenya Government had siphoned relief food meant for a hungry population and sold it instead.

Mrs Drummond, founder of the New Zealand Mighty Dog food company, heard the children were starving after the daughter of her friend Mrs Lois McGirr of North Canterbury returned from a recent visit to Kenya.

Mrs Drummond now wants to help by sending starving children in Kenya 42 tonnes of dog food in a powder to be mixed with water, which she says could feed 160 orphans for two months.

When contacted for comment, Kenya Government spokesman Alfred Mutua rejected claims some senior Government officials had siphoned relief food meant for starving children and sold it.

He insisted that Kenyan children were not suffering such a shortage of food that they needed resort to eating dog food. The Government was ready to accept food donations but not dogs' food.

The minister in charge of special programmes, John Munyes, said it was an insult for somebody to think Kenyans could accept food meant for animals. He said such people should desist because "we will be very careful in vetting the donations".

Many parts of Kenya have been hit by drought, crop failures and food shortages.

- AAP