• From 11am, motorists will be allowed to use the ferry alongside pedestrians until 2pm making it only three hours of ferry usage a day.
• Pedestrians get priority, exclusively between 5am and 11am.
Ali Huhu, who works at a shipping line in the CBD, lives in Likoni’s Shelly Beach area. He is supposed to report to work at 8am and leave at 5pm.
He drives to work every day and crosses the Likoni channel daily.
However, he now has a choice to make -- either seek permission to work from home daily, or abandon his vehicle and use public transport.
This is because a new schedule at the Likoni crossing channel has restricted motorist to three hours a day.
Pedestrians will be given priority.
They will be the only exclusive users of the ferry between 5am and 11am.
From 11am, motorists will be allowed to use the ferry alongside pedestrians until 2pm.
From 2pm, no motorist will be allowed until the next day at 11am.
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, Coast regional coordinator John Elungata and other political and administrative leaders made the announcement at a press conference at the Likoni Crossing Channel on Saturday.
The measures follow the chaos and violence by police enforcing the curfew on Friday evening at the channel crossing.
At least 50 people were injured in the chaos.
Motorists, like Huhu, said the new measures will greatly inconvenience them.
"I work in the CBD from 8am. How will I get to work? Does it mean that I should not use my car? That is inconsiderate," Huhu said.
Winston Nanabiti Muto, who uses his vehicle daily, said it will force him to adjust his sleeping and waking time.
He lives in Kombani in Kwale county but drives every day to his workplace in Mombasa's CBD.
“We may reach a time when we will not allow people on either side to cross the ferry. Restrictions will only get harsher only if Kenyans continue to defy directives.John Elungata , Coast regional coordnator
“I know the government is trying to curb the spread of coronavirus but some measures need wide consultation before being implemented,” Muto said.
Joho said, however, these are extraordinary times that require extraordinary measures.
“We are doing this for the good of the citizens. We are not happy with these decisions that we have to make because they are difficult. We have to make some sacrifices,” he said.
Devolution CAS Hussein Dado, who is in charge of the curfew at the Coast, said sometimes there are "necessary evils".
“The curfew will stay and will have to be implemented strictly,” Dado said.
Elungata said the measures may become stricter, should there be need.
“We may reach a time when we will not allow people on either side to cross the ferry,” Elungata warned.
"Rrestrictions will only get harsher if Kenyans continue to defy directives including social distancing, bans on gatherings and avoiding unnecessary movement, issued by the government.
Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir said 85 per cent of those crossing the ferry to their workplaces in the CBD live from hand to mouth.
"They have to go out and look for that daily bread," Nassir said.
He said any measures that are meant to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus must not hurt the common citizens.
“Some 14.9 million people in Kenya live from hand to mouth. Only 2.9 million people are employed. We need gravity when approaching these issues. Not what we saw yesterday at the ferry. What happened there was sad,” the MP said.
He condemned the brutality meted put on the residents Friday evening, saying better ways of managing the traffic at the ferry will have to be sought.
The restricted use of the ferries by motorists will greatly diminish revenues for the Kenya Ferry Service, if it is not changed or successfully challenged in court.
On average, 6,000 vehicles use the ferry to cross the channel daily.
These bring in about Sh200 million a year, about Sh16.6 million a month.
Only vehicles pay for the use of the ferries.
Early Saturday morning, motorists were barred from use of the ferry as priority was given to pedestrians.
Motorists were unaware of the new measure and had to wait for about two hours.
A source at the KFS told the Star it took the intervention of the KFS Managing Director Bakari Goa to salvage the situation after he made a few phone calls.
Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki said the KFS and relevant authorities should establish a Ferry Users Committee that will address issues that affect the ferry users.
The committee, he said, must include a representative of frequent ferry users, especially the pedestrians.
Faki said most of the decisions made concerning the ferries do not have input from the users of the ferry, who know best where the shoe pinches.
“Usually, the voice of the users is not heard and that is why most of the decisions made about the ferry services either fail or become chaotic,” the Senator said.
Mombasa Woman Representative Asha Hussein said it's necessary to have a lasting solution at the ferry not only because of the coronavirus pandemic but also for the long term."
(Edited by V. Graham)