…NSSA orders cooling tower to be barricaded for safety reasons
Tinaani Nyabereka
Gweru – The death of a Gweru man who was employed as a truck driver at Chinese owned JIN YI chrome smelting plant last week has raised eyebrows among residents who still have to come to terms with the demise of Chesia Mdala (39).
The company currently operating with a capacity of 740 workers is believed to be among one of the big chrome smelting and ferrochrome exporting plants in Midlands.
As family members continue to demand answers to what really transpired, Mdala is believed to have drowned in a cooling tower which contained hot water as he was fetching water to wash his truck last week Wednesday at around 2 pm.
Speaking to TellZim News during an interview, the deceased’s wife (name withheld for ethical reasons) said his husband’s body was found floating the next day, Thursday 28 April 2022 around 8 am.
The deceased was however buried the same day he was retrieved as his body was said to be in a decomposing state due to the hot water burns.
“What we only heard is that he took his truck to a pond to wash it around 2 pm. He then took a blue bucket with him and from there we only heard that he was found dead at the tower holding a bucket in his left hand.
“One thing I am failing to understand is their explanation that he drowned around 2 pm and someone came to take the truck and saw his phone but failed to take action. When someone disembarks the vehicle, they usually take with them the car keys and some valuables. We still want to know what really happened to my husband,” the deceased’s wife demanded.
Mdala’s mother, (name withheld) was short of words to describe the death of his son whom she had seen a few hours before the incident.
“I am not convinced by these people at all. My son passed by home around 2 pm in a jovial mood only or him to fail to return home. They are saying he wanted to wash his car but I am failing to understand.
“These people know what they did to my son, I am still failing to come to terms with his death despite the whole narration,” she said.
Meanwhile family members are still suspecting foul play on the incident.
JIN YI Enterprises incoming Administrator Tongesai Svidzi said the company had since rendered funeral assistance to the deceased’s family.
“The incident occurred while the old management was still in place. As for me and the incoming team, we are the new administration which is incoming and we await induction, so we also heard of the issue though it was already attended to by the outgoing management, so I will only answer what I know with regards to the matter.
“As a company, yes we reached the family and funeral assistance in form of cash amounting to US$ 2 500 was given. What happened is we suspect that Mdala might have slipped off the stoop while fetching water to wash the truck at the cooling tower. Mdala reported to work on the day the incident happened (that is Wednesday April 27, 2022). He was one of our drivers and had just secured his employment last month (March). So his duties were those to go and ferry gas cylinders and any other duties which would be assigned by the authorities,” said Svidzi.
He also confirmed that one of the deceased’s work colleagues is the one who went to check on him only to discover that he had passed on.
“So upon returning from his tasks around 2 pm, it is said he went to the cooling tower with the intention to wash his truck, so he went with his bucket but what then happened at the tower no one witnessed it. As time went by, one of his colleague drivers who had his truck as well checked on him. After seeing Mdala’s truck parked by the tower, he found the car keys and the deceased’s phone inside. So he just assumed the deceased had taken a walk and drove the truck and parked it at the parking bay .He then surrendered the keys and the cellphone to the guards so that they could hand over the phone to him when he returns.
“The following morning our manager received a call from the deceased’s wife saying she had not heard anything from her husband since the previous day. The manager (as he was on his way to work) said he would check on Mdala upon reaching the work station and on the other hand the deceased’s brother in law, Asani Mahlati had already reported that the now deceased was missing to the authorities.
“So an alarm was raised while searching, the now deceased was found floating in the cooling tower with his body swollen as it had slept in hot water all night. The police were informed and so were National Social Security Association (NSSA) and Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and they all came. They conducted investigations on the matter and Mdala’s relatives took the body,” Svidzi added.
He further said the tower had already been fenced following a directive from NSSA to barricade the pond for safety purposes.
“We were given an order to have the tower fenced for the safety of workers and this has been done .The area is now fenced and is a no go area. Before it was fenced, it was a no go area but workers still preferred to fetch water there since it is a central point. From investigations conducted, we greatly believe that the now deceased might have slipped into the pool coincidentally after stepping on the froth produced by the water as that froth is slippery if stepped on,” he added.
However, a police report could not be obtained on the matter by the time of writing this article.
