• In a statement on Monday, Mutua said the pollution is a great risk to residents especially with the coronavirus pandemic.
• The company shall only resume production once occupational Health and Safety Standards and protocols are put in place to the satisfaction of National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Machakos County Government.
Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua on Monday ordered the immediate closure of Endmor Steel Mills after numerous complaints of pollution by Syokimau residents.
The complaints attracted media attention, which led to an expose by Citizen TV, showing the health hazard caused by the factory.
In the exposé, one resident said the pollution from Endmor Steel Mills made his child die.
In a statement on Monday, Mutua said the pollution is a great risk to residents, especially with the coronavirus pandemic.
"To safeguard our people whose respiratory systems are being affected by the pollution, even rendering them in more danger during this difficult time of Covid-19, Machakos County Government has suspended the business licence for the said company until measures recommended are dealt with," he said.
The company shall only resume production once occupational Health and Safety Standards and protocols are put in place to the satisfaction of National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Machakos County Government.
The firm also has to provide adequate standard KN 95 masks to all workers before production is recommenced.
Mutua said Endmor Steel Mills further has to ensure strict adherence to Covid-19 public health rules of social distancing, use of face masks, hand washing and daily recording of temperatures.
The company has up to Monday evening to wind up its operation.
Residents complained the company's activities would make children wake up at night, sneezing and gasping for air. The thick, dark smoke would particularly appear more dense after dusk, residents said.
Over time, many homes reported thick and sticky residue with a strong, pungent odour on windows and walls.
The wet smoke residue smears easily, which has made cleanup more difficult.
John Mutinda, a representative of the Syokimau Residents Association, said the situation has not improved.
“The smoke has made the neighbourhood uninhabitable. Many residents have even sold their property and left the estate,” he said.
Residents told the National Environment Management Authority that the offending pollution came from Endmor Steel Millers Limited, a metal smelting company built inside Syokimau in 2013.