Written By John Mutiso 📝
The family of a 34-year-old man who died on March 25th after falling into a vat of molten steel has threatened to sue the employer over the compensation that they were offered.
Caleb Otieno died after falling into a vat of molten steel at the Blue Nile Rolling Mills Ltd, where he had been employed for seven years.
According to the family, the company assured them that they would be paid Ksh7,000 per month for the remaining months of Otieno’s contract, which would total Ksh420,000.
The deceased’s father Martin Oraro, 74, told the Nation that when he asked for compensation, he was offered Ksh100,000, which he said was a mockery to the family, considering the awful manner in which his son died.
“The company offered me Sh100,000, and when I asked them about the compensation, the HR manager told me that they would compensate me with a third of Sh21,000 that my son was earning per month for the five years he worked as a permanent employee. That is the last thing I heard from the company,” Mr Oraro told the Nation.
”They told me this would translate to Sh7,000 per month. When my other son, John Agwambo, did the calculations, we realised the compensation would be Sh420,000 for all the five years he worked there as a permanent employee, yet it is safety negligence at the company that made my son die. We felt ridiculed and denied justice,” Mr Oraro added.
Oraro’s family will bury three small bags of his remains, including a few joint bones and teeth, that were recovered from the boiler at his father’s home in Kisumu West on Saturday, April 9.
“We managed to retrieve some few joint bones and a few teeth that we will bury this Saturday. We have preserved them at General Kago Funeral Home in Thika. We feel frustrated and we will be moving to court after the burial,” Mr Agwambo said.
Blue Nile Rolling Mills Ltd, which manufactures the Kifaru brand of steel products, declined to comment on the matter.
Thika DCIO Joseph Thuvi said the matter is still under investigation and ruled out foul play in Otieno’s death.
Otieno’s family has appealed to well-wishers for financial assistance so that they can give him a proper funeral and pursue justice.
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