Family Whose Son Was Boiled to Death at a Thika Steel Factory Rejects Sh2 Million Compensation

The family of a man who was boiled to death at a metal factory in Thika, Kiambu County on March 25th has rejected a second compensation package of Sh2 million.

34-year-old Caleb Otieno was killed after he fell into a vat of molten steel at the Blue Nile Rolling Mills Ltd, where he worked for seven years.

The management of the steel manufacturer had initially offered Sh420,000 but the deceased’s father Martin Oraro (74) rejected the amount, terming it a ridicule to the family.

Nation reports that lawyers have maintained that the lowest amount Otieno’s family should be paid for his horrific death is Sh20 million.

The company, through its Human Resource department, wrote to the family saying that Sh2 million, which is equivalent to the gross pay their son would have earned for eight years, was the best they could offer.

“Blue Nile Rolling Mills Limited sent me a letter detailing how they arrived at Sh2 million. They said my brother earned a gross pay of Sh21,000 and that they were ready to pay that for an additional eight years. They said the Sh21,000 is nontaxable. The document is silent on the other five years he worked at the company as a permanent employee. We have decided not to take the offer because the company is taking advantage of our vulnerability despite the emotional pain to which they have subjected us through their negligence. We want the courts to determine the correct compensation,” Otieno’s brother John Agwambo told Nation.

In the letter signed by Charles Theuri, the county Occupational Safety and Health Officer, the company admits that Otieno died while working in their factry and backs the compensation under The Work Injury Benefits Act No 13 of 2007.

''With reference to the accident that occurred on 25/03/ 2022 to Caleb Otieno Oraro employed by you as furnace charger, compensation payable to the employee is assessed at Sh2,029,248,00 calculated as follows. In respect of 100 per cent permanent disablement…100 per cent of 96 months total earnings of Sh21,000,” the letter reads in part.

Otieno, who had worked for the company for seven years, including five years as a permanent employee, was interred on April 9th.

The family buried three small bags of remains that were retrieved from the boiler, including a few joint bones and teeth.