This archive report was first published on 3 October 2019.
On October 3, 2019, a devastating ferry accident occurred in Mombasa, resulting in the drowning of a 35-year-old mother, Mariam Kighenda, and her 4-year-old daughter, Amanda Mutheu.
The incident occurred when their vehicle slid off the MV Harambee ferry and plunged into the sea midstream at the busy Likoni channel.
Three days after the incident, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia had yet to issue a statement, instead pointing a non-expert to lead the rescue operations, according to Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr.
"You can imagine 72 hours later, we have not had a statement from the CS on this incident," Senator Mutula Jr. said.
Senator Sam Ongeri accused the Kenya Navy, Coast Guard Service, Kenya Ports Authority, Maritime Authority, and Kenya Ferry Services of neglect and letting down Kenyans.
He accused the agencies of being "spectators and onlookers watching as somebody disappeared into the waters," and demanded that they take responsibility and resign from their positions.
A diver who was part of the rescue operation team revealed that the team may not be able to recover the bodies due to the lack of necessary equipment and technology to go deep into the ocean.
The diver also revealed that the waters are shark-infested and have other abundant smaller sea predators, making it difficult to recover any remains.
