The family of a 34-year-old man who died after falling into a boiler at a Thika-based factory has threatened to move to court over a compensation row.
Caleb Otieno burnt to death after he fell into an iron smelting machine at Blue Nile Rolling Mills Limited in Kiambu County last month.
According to Otieno’s colleagues, the deceased tripped and fell into the boiler after his gloves got stuck in one of the metals while performing his normal duties.
Speaking to a local daily, the deceased’s father, Martin Oraro, said compensation talks with the firm seem to have collapsed.
The 74-year-old disclosed that the company had offered the family Ksh400,000 in compensation, an amount the family termed as ridicule.
According to Oraro, the family expected more given the horrific circumstances in which the son met his death.
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Blue Nile offered the family the amount after a meeting that was attended by the firm’s managing director, human resources manager and Thika DCIO Joseph Thuvi.
“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,” Oraro told Daily Nation in an interview on Tuesday.
He added: ”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.”
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While alleging negligence, the family maintains that if proper safety measures were in place, Otieno would still be alive.
Otieno’s body was liquified and mixed with the contents of the boiller.
The family only managed to retrieve a tooth and a few bone joints from the boiler.
Also collected from the scene were three small sacks of ash which the family intends to bury on Saturday, April 9.
The remains are preserved at General Kago Funeral Home in Thika as burial plans continue.
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