Family rejects Sh2m package after man died in steel firm’s furnace

A Sh2 million compensation package offered by a steel firm where a man was burned to death in a furnace has been rejected by the victim’s family. 

The management of Thika-based Blue Nile Rolling Mills Limited had initially offered the family of Caleb Otieno Sh420,000. The offer was, however, met with  outrage. 

Lawyers have maintained that the least the family should get for the horrific death of Otieno, 34, which occurred late last month, is Sh20 million. 

The firm reached out to the family for the second time with an offer that the family also turned down, arguing that it was too little for a lost life.

The Sh420,000 offer came before Otieno was buried on April 9 in his home county of Kisumu.

The family now says the compensation package should be determined by the courts as talks seem to have collapsed.

Yesterday, Otieno’s  brother John Agwambo told the Nation in an interview that Blue Nile Rolling Mills Limited, through its  Human Resource department, had written to them claiming that that the best they could offer was Sh2 million, being the equivalent of the gross pay their son would have earned from the company for eight years had he not died.

“On the day we buried my brother, 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,” Mr Agwambo told the Daily Nation on Wednesday.

Read: Caleb Otieno, man who died in molten steel, buried in Kisumu

According to the document, which has been signed by Mr Charles Theuri, the county Occupational Safety and Health officer, the company admits that Otieno died while working in their facility 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.

Earlier, lawyers and human resource practitioners had expressed their outrage over the Sh420,000 offer.

Lawyer Donald Kipkorir advised the family of the deceased not to accept anything less than Sh20 million as compensation.

''The compensation the family of Caleb Otieno who died a horrible death in Blue Nile Rolling Mills, Thika, ought to be paid under Law Reform Act, Cap 26 and Fatal Accident Act, Cap 32, if Otieno worked up to 60 years is Sh21,000 x 12 x 1/3 x 35 = Sh2,940,000,” Mr Kipkorir said.

''The above computation is for loss of life and expectancy. His family is also entitled to general damages for pain and suffering. This is discretion of the court... the compensation in total is well over Sh20 million,” Mr Kipkorir added.

Mr Kipkorir told the Daily Nation that the offer to the family was not in line with Worker Injury Benefits Act.
He further argued that Otieno could have retired at either 60 or 65 years.

''An employer has an obligation for the health and safety of his employees, whether  they are insured or not,” he added.

Read: Row over Sh420,000 compensation for man who died in molten steel

Former Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi noted that although no amount of money can replace a lost life, Blue Nile Rolling Mills Limited had an obligation to ensure the safety of its employees and the family should be compensated well.

“Compensation for the wrongful death of a youthful working male adult cannot be less than Sh20 million. Blue Nile Rolling Mills Limited must have insurance on this risk. Let them pay Caleb Otieno’s family,” said Mr Havi.

Otieno's father, Mr Martin Oraro, 74, had earlier complained about the offer.

''After I was informed that my son had died, I travelled from Kisumu to Thika. I met the Human Resource manager of the company, the managing director and Thika DCIO Joseph Thuvi. The company offered me Sh100,000 and when I asked them about compensation, the HR manager told me that they would pay a third of the Sh21,000 that my son was earning per month for five years as a permanent employee. I was hopeless. I took the money to prepare for the burial. That is the last thing I heard from the company,'' Mr Oraro  told the Nation  on phone.

''They told me this would translate to Sh7,000 per month. When my other son, Mr Agwambo, did the calculations, we noticed the compensation should have been Sh420,000 for the five years he worked there as a permanent employee, yet it is negligence at the company that killed my son. We felt ridiculed and denied justice,'' Mr Oraro added.

Mr Patrick Alando, the managing partner at Human Capital Management Consultants, argues that compensation should be guided by the Work Injury Benefits  Act of 2007, which outlines the types of injuries and the compensations under permanent and temporary injuries as well as death.

“If an employee dies as a result of an injury caused by an accident, compensation shall be paid to the dependants of the employee in accordance with the provisions of the Third Schedule, subject to the maximum and minimum amount determined by the minister after consultation with the council. (2) No amount may be deducted from the compensation awarded under this section to a dependant in respect of any compensation awarded to the employee in respect of the same or any other accident,’’ the  Act reads in part.

''For the purposes of this section, a dependant is deemed to have been wholly financially dependent upon the employee at the time of the accident, unless the contrary is proved. (4) In addition to the compensation payable under this section, the employer is liable to pay reasonable expenses for the funeral of the deceased employee subject to the maximum amount determined by the minister, after consultation with the council,’’ the Act reads further.

Otieno had worked for the company for seven years; five years as a permanent employee.

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