The two women, who had travelled from Rangenya village in Ndhiwa, Homa Bay county, said the company had delayed paying Sh3.36 million in compensation since last year.
Accompanied by officers from Muslim for Human Rights (Muhuri), a rights group in the region, the two widows stormed the insurance offices accusing the staff of taking them around in circles.
Their husband, Ibrahim Odhiambo (47), was a truck driver working with Badar Hardware Limited located in Mombasa, but with a yard in the Kadzonzo in Kilifi county where he was operating from.
Odhiambo died in a road accident on July 10, 2021, on his way to deliver goods to Garissa county, according to the family.
In a letter dated May 25, 2022, the Ministry of Labour, through the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services, wrote to the company directing them to identify Odhiambo's dependents to aid the process of claiming compensation.
A subsequent letter from the Kilifi County Occupational Safety and Health officer directed that the dependents be paid Sh3.36 million after an assessment was done. The payment was to be made within 90 days.
“The insurance company has just been taking us in circles since then. We have been travelling from Homa Bay county to follow up on the payment, but nothing seems to be bearing fruit,” widow Susan Adhiambo said.
Susan and her co-wife Moureen Kwamboka decided to pitch camp in Mombasa with assistance from Muhuri in November last year to follow up on the payment.
“When we came here in November, they claimed that the company my husband worked for had failed to submit remittances amounting to almost Sh400,000,” Adhiambo said.
“We followed up on the matter and the company cleared. Ever since we have been told that they were waiting for one more signature before our cheque is processed.”
The widows now want the government to intervene and help them get justice.
“In December, they told us to come back on January 10 that our cheque will be ready, but when we came back here, they refused to acknowledge us, saying we can go wherever we want,” Kwamboka said.
“We had presented them with documents signed by our area chief dated August 2021 to prove that we were Odhiambo’s widows. We even attached his death certificate dated July 10, 2022.”
Takaful Insurance of Africa, in an email response to the Star, denied any delays in paying the compensation, saying that the required claim documentation was complied with in late December 2022.
However, Takaful Insurance marketing, communication and customer service manager Jennifer Muiruri said they do not know any client by the name of Ibrahim Odhiambo. She said their client is Badar Hardware Limited.
“We do not have a client by the name Ibrahim Odhiambo Okech. Our policyholder is Badar Hardware Limited. Having received all the requisite claim requirements, TIA is now at an advanced stage of processing the payment of the claim and will advise our policyholder as soon as the payment is ready as per the conditions of the policy,” Muiruri said.
Muhuri rapid response officer Francis Auma threatened that they would go to court if the insurance company fails to pay the widows in the next seven days.
“It has been a back-and-forth game since we took up the matter last year. We are giving them seven days to pay up, failure to do that we shall take legal action,” he said.
Auma urged the Insurance Regulatory Authority to intervene and tame what he described as quack insurance companies fleecing innocent Kenyans of their hard-earned money in terms of premiums but disappearing when it comes to paying benefits to dependents.
He further asked the public to do due diligence on insurance companies before taking any cover.
Auma also asked the Law Society of Kenya to weigh in on increased cases of lawyers colluding with insurance companies to defraud beneficiaries, saying that Muhuri had received several such cases last year.
“We are going to camp here until these women are paid. In fact, their license should be revoked immediately,” Auma said.
