Pedestrians crossing the Likoni channel will from Wednesday be forced to use the Liwatoni floating bridge, the Mombasa County Emergency Committee on Covid-19 Response has said.
The committee said all public service vehicles will be diverted to the bridge during specified times when the bridge will be open for pedestrian use.
“During such times, no pedestrian will be allowed to use the ferries,” committee deputy co-chair and Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingi said.
The committee spoke at the governor’s office after a meeting where they came up with an eight-point recommendation list.
Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Ferry Services and Kenya National Highways Authority officials will announce the timing schedule during which the bridge will be open for pedestrians.
The government has expressed concern about the low number of pedestrians using the bridge, which was constructed as an emergency response to decongest the Likoni ferry.
Currently, an average of 20,000 people use the bridge daily. This is far from the average 300,000 pedestrians that use the ferries daily.
Kingi said scheduling challenges that disrupt the use of the floating bridge is something that the multi-agency team is working to resolve.
Many Likoni residents thought the bridge would be open for 24 hours but the arrival and departure of ships meant that the bridge had to be closed for more than seven hours a day.
The bridge is open to pedestrians from 5am to 8am after which it is closed as ships are then allowed to pass through until 3pm when the bridge is once again opened to the pedestrians until 7pm.
Residents, especially those living on Shelly Beach, have however complained of the measure saying it only disrupts their time management.
Such residents will be forced to walk about three extra kilometres to access the floating bridge.
“I live on Shelly Beach. Does it mean I will have to use more fare or walk long distances to access the bridge? That is not fair,” Eva Asasi, a resident said.
Simon Ochele, who also lives on Shelly beach, said this means he will have to wake up about an hour earlier to reach his workplace at the usual time because of the extra kilometres he will have to walk.
“Waking up earlier means getting out of my house earlier. There is the risk of encountering thugs during such early hours,” Ochele said.
Kingi and Mombasa deputy county commissioner Martin Mbae said all madrassas and Sunday schools should be closed with immediate effect until further notice.
“It is difficult to control children and that is why we found it necessary to close the madrassas and Sunday schools,” Mbae said.
Churches and Mosques remain open but only up to a third of the capacity are allowed in.
“The elderly, from 55 years and above are not allowed to go to churches, mosques or temples. Our data shows that 90 per cent of those who have succumbed to the Covid-19 virus are in this age bracket,” Kingi said.
Antigen tests will be introduced in all border posts. No one will be allowed through without a Covid-19 negative certificate.
Kingi and Mbaye announced that all indoor sporting activities are prohibited indefinitely. The deputy governor called on religious leaders to take the lead in sensitising faithful to the need to take precautions against the virus.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
