Daima staff who died in milk boiler tragedy buried in Kuresoi

Young, ambitious and industrious are some of the words that were used to describe the late Enock Bii, 26, during his burial Tuesday at his father's farm in Kuresoi, Nakuru County.

The father of one died after burning in hot water inside a milk boiler at the Sameer Agricultural Limited (Daima Dairy) in Salgaa, along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway where he worked.

Speaker after speaker lauded Bii, describing him as a humble man who was at ease with everyone.

HARD TO REPLACE

His father, Mr John Rono, said that the untimely death of his son had left a sad, indelible mark on the family and that it would be hard to replace him.

"Up to now, we have not been able to come to terms with the death of our son and accepting that our son won't be with us for the rest of our lives would be hard task" Mr Rono said.

Mr Rono added that his son had left a very young family, adding that he also depended on him.

"We do not know who will provide for the young wife and a nine-month-old baby that he left behind since he was their sole breadwinner," he added.

APPEAL FOR HELP

He appealed to Daima Dairy to help educate Bii's child and also assist the family that he left behind.

"It is our only hope that the company will do something right by compensating for the loss since the deceased had always provided for his family," added Mr Rono.

Mr Elisha Kirui, a cousin of Bii, said that the death has affected them emotionally.

"The death of my cousin has really affected not only us but the entire community that had hope in him," he said.

Kuresoi South MP Joseph Tanui said that factories should be compelled to observe safety standards to prevent such accidents from happening in the future.

AVOID RISKS

"Companies should avoid putting their employees at risk by instructing them to perform work manually when the work can be done using ma-chines," the MP said.

Mr Bii had been instructed to clean one of the milk boilers at the milk factory when tragedy struck.

According to sources at the company, another employee switched on the boiler, which is normally cleaned using a machine, as Bii cleaned it and the hot water burnt and killed him.

SUE FOR NEGLIGENCE

The family’s lawyer Winnie Lagat said will sue the factory for negligence.

“The family still cannot understand why the deceased was ordered to clean the milk boiler manually by his supervisor on the day he met his death. The family wants justice for their kin,” she said.

Ms Lagat added that Bii succumbed to his burns at 2pm on June 2 while receiving treatment at the War Memorial Hospital in Nakuru but the factory did not report the matter to the police until the family did so on June 4.

A post-mortem examination conducted last week indicated he suffered 87 per-cent burns on his body leading to his death.

The company’s management is yet to comment on the matter.

Rongai Sub-County Police Commander Richard Rotich said the company’s management has been instructed to record a statement on what transpired.