Just two days after the retrieval of the bodies of Mariam Kighenda and her daughter, Amanda Mitheu, another disaster is awaiting to happen at the Likoni Ferry channel.
This follows a Saturday night incident where a part of the roof —made out of iron sheets — on MV Likoni was almost blown off by strong winds causing panic among ferry users.
The loosely fixed sheets could be seen being swayed up and back by the wind as heavy rain poured in the area.
A video of the roof blowing up has stirred a debate on the safety of the ferries which have been described by Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) as a disaster in waiting.
Netizens have demanded that the government carries out an audit of the seaworthiness of all the six vessels operating at the channel.
However, KMA has already declared the vessels as unseaworthy and refused to issue them with certificates.
This means they cannot be insured.
Even after Mariam Kighenda’a vehicle slid off the ferry midstream, KFS is still running the vessels with their prows still ploughing in water.
KFS management has not responded on this latest safety lapse.
The ferry together with MV Kwale were bought in June 2010.
Ferries at the Likoni channel handle more than 300,000 passengers and 6,000 vehicles daily.
The on and off Mtongwe services commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta two years ago handle about 15,000 passengers.
