The incident occurred at Bukwo village, Kinyach location in Baringo North Sub-county on Wednesday.
“It is so painful, we relocated here in 2012 after fleeing the brazen pokot bandits who killed my 60-year old father Kipkiror Lokeris at Kapturo, border of Tiaty and Baringo Noth sub-counties” Father of the deceased boy John Rong’uno said.
“I was still waiting eagerly for the government to compensate us victims of insecurity after losing my father and several livestock to the armed cattle rustlers, then again today snake kills my son” He posed.
He is among over 30,000 displaced families from volatile parts of Baringo North and Baringo South sub-counties bordering Tiaty Sub-county.
The entire place is greenish and bushy owing to the recent heavy rains and the frequent sounds of gun shots have subsided and the entire place is calm.
Rong’uno said his son Elias Cheboi, was jovial and happy and he would miss the hugs he gives him every evening he returns from work.
“I am a casual laborer, so I had just left my son that morning around 8am playing with other children at home then I went to help our grandmother construct a temporary maize granary” He said.
The man said a boy rushed to where he was around 5pm reporting to him that his son had been bitten by a huge snake.
He later learned that in process of playing his child jumped from a branch of a shallow tree and fell on the tail of the huge venomous puff adder snake, before it sprinted to bite him four times on his waist.
The residents then killed the snake and presented it to the police and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
“I rushed and surely I found him wailing and wreathing helplessly on the ground...their mother was not at home so he ordered a boda boda to rush him immediately to nearby Kalabata dispensary.
He said he was told the nurse in the local facility was last seen three months ago then he rushed his paining son to Bartabwa health centre, 15 kilometers away, where they experienced similar challenge.
Rong’uno said nurses in Bartawa were absent and they waited until 9.30 PM at night when one of them showed up and immediately ordered a standby ambulance to transport my son to Baringo County Referral Hospital in Kabarnet-over 40 kilometres away.
“It was on the way before Kabartonjo where I watched my son breath in deeply before collapsing to die…we only had to carry his body to the county facility mortuary” he said.
The grieving father blamed it on the laxity of the county health sector saying he was sure he would not have lost his child if anti-snake venom drugs were available in the nearest dispensary and also if an ambulance was availed in time.
He said made frantic efforts to reach on phone the area Member of Parliament (MP) William Cheptumo, Governor Stanley Kiptis and Bartabwa Ward representative Reuben Chepsongol. before finally losing his child.
-Joseph Kangogo