mind2023
A somber mood engulfed a village in Kericho county after a tea-plucking tractor reportedly killed a grade two pupil on Monday afternoon.
According to reports, the incident happened at Cheptebes Tea Estate on Monday afternoon when a tea plucker belonging to James Finlay accidentally killed the young child.
It is reported that the boy was hiding in a tea plantation when the incident happened. The machine’s blades decapitated the young boy killing him on the spot.
This publication has, however, not established what led to the sinister hiding that left the boy dead. All plucking tractors have been grounded, and no operations are underway.
This is not the first time tea-plucking machines are in the spotlight in Kericho county. In October 2022, 10 tea plucking machines were burnt down in Kericho.
The machines belonging to Ekaterea Tea Company (formerly Unilever) were burnt down at Chebown Tea Estate in the Tagabi area, Belgut Constituency.
This was after irate locals who were against the move to use the machines invaded the estates in the fight against the mechanization of tea harvesting in the county.
The company is estimated to have lost over Sh2.5 million in the destruction of the machines and the carrier.
