Moses Kuria reveals how heating mat almost killed him

Moses Kuria’s agony is a mat used to treat sore muscles and muscle spasms. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria is nursing burns on his feet from a heating mat he was gifted by a friend.

The source of Kuria’s agony is a mat used to treat sore muscles and muscle spasms, but which carries with it the risk of burns.

Kuria said he often suffered from numbness in his feet and a friend procured the machine to help him with the problem.

The specific model that he used is manufactured by Korean company, Ceragem, and sold all over the world by retailers under the brand.

With its brown honeycomb ceramic shape, it looks very benign. Yet, Kuria told Citizen TV in an interview, his heavily bandaged feet perched on the table before him, it was a “deadly weapon” that left him with third-degree burns and needing three surgeries. He has been in hospital for over two weeks.

There is a long list attached to a purchase of a heating mat.

Businessman Jimi Wanjigi (left) chats with MP Moses Kuria at Karen Hospital. [Courtesy]

It states that using the item for an extended period of use at a high temperature poses a risk of burns. The mat’s temperature is adjustable from 30 to 65 degrees Celsius.

“Be sure to set the dial to “-” when using the product for an extended period,” the user manual states.

Kuria was admitted to Karen Hospital on September 27. He said he used the mat and his feet “exploded” after.

“Because of travelling and getting numb, a friend managed to convince me to use the gadget, which to the best of my knowledge I thought was authorised. I was trying to cure a problem by introducing a killer solution,” he said.

The gadget states that it was developed to neutralise the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. In Kenya, it goes for Sh250,000.

Ceragem Kenya lists the equipment’s benefits as enhancing deep sleep, blood circulation, strengthening immunity and promoting metabolism.

Kuria said he was “actually preparing to buy another one for my mother. It is nothing but a deadly weapon”.

He has sought a ministerial statement in Parliament from the Cabinet Secretaries for Trade and Health on why the mat was allowed into the country.