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Likoni Ferry Services Admit Faulty Vessel Caused Mariam Kighenda, Daughter Deaths

Fridah Wangechi | 1 year ago
Mariam Kighenda and her daughter who drowned after they were trapped in the vehicle which plunged into the Indian Ocean in 2019. COURTESY
Mariam Kighenda and her daughter who drowned after they were trapped in their vehicle which plunged into the Indian Ocean in 2019. COURTESY

Senior officials from the Kenya Ferry Services have come clean and admitted that the vessel in which Mariam Kighenda and her daughter met their deaths after their vehicle plunged into the Indian Ocean was faulty.

This was revealed after an inquest into their deaths revealed that their deaths would have been preventable were it not for the state in which the vessel was in, with faulty parts that failed to cushion the vehicle from plunging into the ocean.

The vessel, MV Harambee had faulty prows, the projected part of the ferry at both ends of the ferry that provides buoyancy and used for loading vehicles and passengers, that failed to stop the  vehicle from reversing into the ocean.

Being the last vehicle parked on the right-hand side of the ferry,it could not stopped while reversing as the prows could not be lifted owing to damage and disrepair.

“I cannot say that MV Harambee was in good condition. Its prows could not be lifted. They were just set above the water level,” said KFS engineer Kennedy Mukhebu who also witnessed the accident as he was on the ferry that evening. 

The car , a Toyota Isis registration number KCB 289C, plunged into the ocean midstream six minutes after it boarded, around 6:13pm on September 29, 2019 while helpless passengers watched. They were retrieved 13 days later.

According to Nation, Mukhebu had notified the management about the list of problems which needed immediate attention for repair on the vessel which went unfixed for a long time.

Another official who took the stand during the inquest, KFS Managing Director Bakari Gowa, also confirmed that he was aware of the damage on the vessel but he could not help the situation owing to  financial constraints to cater to repairs.

“As much as general operations of the KFS is my responsibility, my hands are tied if there are no funds. It is the engineering unit that is responsible but I take responsibility for the operations within the facility,” he stated.

He also defended himself stating that when he began his stint as Managing Director in 2016, many of the old vessels had mechanical problems, eliciting public outcry that he managed to oversee some repairs, and that Kighenda's and her daughter's deaths were an unfortunate situation.