Dispute Over Compensation For The Man Who Boiled To Death
A Thika-based rolling mill is involved in a compensation dispute with Caleb Otieno’s family, their employee who died in a steel boiler in an alleged factory accident.
Lydia Kadima 
The family has termed the compensation offered by the company as ridicule to the family considering the disturbing way in which their son met his death; therefore, they will present the matter in court after the burial.
When Caleb fell into the boilers, his body was liquified and mixed with melted steel. They managed to find a few of his remains which will be laid to rest on Saturday.
“We managed to retrieve some 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,” John Agwambo, the deceased brother, told Nation Africa.
Martin Oraro, Caleb’s father, said the company was offering a Sh.100,000 compensation and owes his son’s death to safety negligence on the company’s side.
“After I was informed my son had died, I traveled all the way from Kisumu to Thika. I met the management of the company where my son was working. I was accompanied by my family members and in the meeting was the human resources manager of the company, the managing director, and the 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,'' Mr. Oraro said.
''They told me this would translate to Sh7,000 per month. When my other son, John Agwambo, did the calculations, we realized 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.
Otieno’s family suspects foul play in the accident, but Joseph Thuvi, Thika DCIO, has termed Otieno’s death as an accident.
“The matter is under investigation, and preliminary investigations have shown that it was an accident and that the deceased was not thrown into a metal boiler as is being alleged,” the Thika DCIO told the Nation.
