Organisers and county clash after Mombasa boat tragedy

Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir in his office on Monday / JOHN CHESOLI

The East African Ocean Festival organising committee has insisted that the Mombasa county government was involved in the planning of the event.

The committee said the county was fully involved but only pulled out six days to the event, citing lack of funds to sponsor it.

“Just like in the first edition, the second edition of the East African Ocean Festival was organised in collaboration with key stakeholders, community partners and government agencies.

“The county government of Mombasa was among these partners and had initially pledged sponsorship support,” a statement from agency said in part.

The committee said the county only scaled down its sponsorship due to budgetary and e-government Procurement constraints, but remained committed to the success of the festival by continuing to provide logistical support, security personnel and inspectorate officers during the event.

To substantiate their claim, they provided a letter that the county government wrote them on October 1, signed by Khamisi Kurichwa, the chief officer in the department of tourism, culture and trade.

Kurichwa explained that they could not provide the catering services they had earlier promised.

“This is a result of the new system (e-government procurement system) that has not been operationalised to date making it difficult to purchase goods and services as it is required under the Procurement and Disposal Act 2015,” Kurichwa said in part, apologising for the inconvenience they caused.

“Nevertheless, the county government remains committed to supporting the success of this important festival. In this regard, we will extend partnership in kind by: waiving outdoor advertisement and branding fees related to the festival, provision of county inspectorate to enhance security and support in traffic control during the event.

“We value our partnership with the Ocean Festival and remain keen to collaborate in advancing tourism, culture and community engagement in Mombasa,” Kurichwa said in the letter.

Three people drowned while 19 survived after a racing boat they were using in the dragon boat race capsized last Friday at around 5.30 pm.

The first body, that of Caleb Otieno, 21, was recovered on Saturday at around 3.46 pm, while the other two; Stephen Karembo, 23, and Thomas Wanyonyi, 24, were recovered on Sunday at around 1.09 am and 1.13 am, respectively.

Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, speaking on Monday in his office in the company of a disaster response team, the second largest after the 2019 Miriam Mghendi incident at the Likoni crossing channel, claimed the county was not involved in this year’s event but were in the inaugural event last year.

“Last year, we were involved. This year, you will see, all those who were there, who were sponsors or anything if that nature, the county government of Mombasa was not part of those that were involved,” Nassir said.

He said no permit was issued by the county government to host such events.

“This year, we were not part of the sponsors of this event and as a matter of fact, coincidentally, they had requested the Deputy Governor [Francis Thoya] to attend, but the DG in his on wisdom, refused because we were not clear on all these matters,” Nassir said.

He said there were a total of 14 boats with 250 personnel in the rescue teams.

Going forward, all hotels and establishments that are within the sea shore, and anyone who would want to organise such an event, will henceforth be required to get clearance from both the county security and the county disaster management teams.

The county disaster team shall also be required to be at the event fully.

The governor said the Kenya Maritime Authority will inspect the boats to ensure seaworthiness and the Kenya Coast Guard Services (KCGS) will implement and enforce the regulations in place.

“Whether it is the organiser not providing life jackets or negligence where people decide not to wear life jackets, the enforcement team will do what needs to be done.”

Nassir said both the national and county governments will assist in the burial of the bodies, and psychosocial support for the survivors and their families and the families of the deceased.

“The disaster team has also recommended that a full inquiry be done. And in that inquiry that will be led by the KCGS, the DCI [Directorate of Criminal Investigations] and everyone else to give a full report to indicate what exactly transpired and how we reached where we reached,” the governor added.

The organising committee said they welcome the inquiry that will be led by the KCGS and other relevant agencies.

“We will fully cooperate and provide all necessary information to ensure transparency and accountability throughout the process,” the committee said in their statement.

“The safety and well-being of all participants and attendees has always been our top priority and we will await recommendations from the inquiry report regarding this unfortunate incident to ensure that we enhance safety protocols on all future water sports activities.

“We continue to keep the affected families and the Kijiweni Youth Uplift Team in our thoughts and prayers,” they said.

Instant Analysis:

The second edition of the East African Ocean Festival saw nine teams participate in the ill-fated dragon boat race including Kijiweni Youth Uplift Team, Burhani Youth, Tourist Police, Kenya Navy, Kenya Coast Guard Services, Maritime, Mudhuba, BMU, Mushomoroni, Bandari and TUMW.