08/02/2026
A Life in Toxicology: How Dr. Joseph Bundotich Is Saving Lives Through Science.
Here is the story of a man whose journey into the world of medicine and science began far from laboratories and lecture halls. The story of Dr. Joseph Kipkoech Bundotich, a senior Deputy Chief Pharmacist.
Dr Joseph Bundotich's journey started in the quiet, forested landscapes of Koibatek, where he attended Kapcholoi Primary School, a modest institution nestled deep within the trees. The environment was simple, the resources few, but the lessons were powerful. It was here, in that rural setting, that the seeds of discipline, curiosity, and resilience were planted.
In the year 1990, Doctor Joseph Bundotich joined Sacho High School, taking a step closer to a future he was only beginning to imagine. Like many students of his time, he carried with him the hopes of his family and community. Hard work and determination defined his years in secondary school, preparing him for the next big leap.
That leap came in the year 1995 when Dr. Joseph Bundotich was admitted to the University of Nairobi to pursue a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree. For a young man from the forests of Koibatek, the university was a new world, crowded lecture halls, complex textbooks, and the constant buzz of scientific discovery. It was here, within the corridors of the School of Pharmacy, that Dr. Bundotich encountered a subject that would quietly shape the rest of his professional life: Toxicology, the science of poisons.
While others saw toxicology as a narrow or intimidating field, he saw it as a calling. He became fascinated by how substances could harm, heal, or save lives depending on how they were understood and used. Determined to master the discipline, he enrolled for postgraduate studies in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the same university. Those years deepened his expertise and sharpened his interest in poison management, an area often overlooked in many health systems.
Years later, in 2012, after being redeployed back into service, Dr. Bundotich received an assignment that would change the direction of his career. He was tasked with understanding the status of acute poisoning cases at the regional hospital then known as Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital in Nakuru.
What Dr. Joseph Bundotich discovered was deeply concerning.
Through a small but revealing study, he found that many health workers were not familiar with the pesticides they frequently encountered in poisoning cases. Different products with different active ingredients were often treated as if they were the same. For example, Fukokil and Lanirat rodenticides were handled similarly, despite containing entirely different active molecules with very different mechanisms of toxicity. The same confusion existed with various trade names of acaricides, commonly known as dips. Even when the correct chemical was identified, treatment protocols were sometimes incomplete or inappropriate.
To Dr. Joseph Bundotich, this was not just a technical problem, it was a matter of life and death. Patients were suffering, and sometimes dying, because critical information was not readily available at the point of care.
Instead of waiting for systems to change, he decided to build a solution himself.
He developed a digital platform, a website designed to help health workers correctly identify pesticides, understand their mechanisms of toxicity, recognize signs and symptoms of poisoning, and apply the right treatment protocols. He named it Poisonsense, and made it accessible at www.poisonsense.co.ke
The impact of this website became immediate and practical. Clinicians began using the platform to guide treatment decisions. Pharmacists consulted it when faced with unfamiliar substances. Teachers, parents, and colleagues reached out for help in real-life emergencies such as cases of methanol poisoning, iron overdose in children, and pesticide exposures.
From hospital wards to school compounds, his knowledge began to save lives in very real ways.
When devolution began in 2013, Dr. Joseph Bundotich made another decisive move. He sought a transfer to Nandi County, where he believed his expertise could make a direct impact on the local population. There, he has invested countless hours developing treatment protocols for poisons commonly encountered in the county and across the North Rift region.
His work has not gone unnoticed. The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB), the national regulatory authority overseeing the practice of pharmacy in Kenya, has recognized his expertise and formally acknowledged him as a pharmacy specialist in clinical toxicology.
Over the years, his phone has become an unofficial hotline for poison-related emergencies. A worried mother whose child swallowed iron tablets. A secondary school teacher calling during the COVID-19 period after methanol poisoning among students. A pharmacist at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital seeking guidance on complex cases. Relatives of poisoning victims searching for hope. Colleagues who rely on his website and expertise.
Each call represents a life touched, a crisis managed, a death possibly prevented.
Dr. Joseph Bundotichās story is not just about academic achievement or professional titles. It is about identifying a silent gap in the health system and choosing to fill it with knowledge, innovation, and service.
Through Dr Joseph Bundotich's work, toxicology has moved from textbooks into real-world impact, one patient, one protocol, and one saved life at a time. One practical example, is his creation of a good downloadable application that helps Clinicians and Pharmacists during health emergencies in poison related cases. The application is easily accessible through:
https://www.poisonsense.co.ke/app/PoisonSense.apk
From the forests of Koibatek to the wards of regional hospitals, Dr. Joseph Bundotich's journey has been defined by one central mission: to make the science of poisons understandable, accessible, and lifesaving. This is the story of Dr Joseph Bundotich..
