• The President also named ex-KRA boss John Njiraini the new GDC chairman
• Former Nyeri Senator Mutahi Kagwe will sit on the energy and petroleum regulatory board.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has fired the Kenya Ferry Services board following the Likoni tragedy and made new appointments to state parastatals.
On Thursday, the President revoked the appointment of Dan Mwanzo, named in May, as the chairman of the KFS board of directors.
He sent board members home. They include Daula Omar, Naima Amir, Philip Ndolo, Rosina Nasigha Mruttu.
Disbanding the board follows the Likoni tragedy on September 29 in which Mariam Kigenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu perished after their vehicle rolled from the ferry into the ocean.
The vehicle finally was recovered on October 11.
the accident caused an uproar and claims of laxity and negligence at KFS. There was a clamour for the President to act and hold the board accountable.
The recovery mission involved Kenya Navy and private divers from South Africa in a major operation that riveted the nation's attention.
The President's decision to fire the chairman and the board is seen as a response to the public outcry over the poor state of ferry transport across, including the lack of restraints and operating gate on the 'killer' ferry.
The President will name a new KFS board to focus on safety, rescue and other measures.
There are claims that despite billions of shillings allocated to the agency to facilitate the closing of the Likoni channel, the board and the management have done little to ensure the safety of the thousands of passengers relying on the ferries.
In other appointments on Thursday, I the President named immediate former Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner General John Njiraini as chairman of the Geothermal Development Corporation for three years.
Uhuru also appointed some politicians, including former Nyeri Senator Mutahi Kagwe who joins the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
Former Kinangop MP David Ngugi was appointed a member of the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority Board, while ex-Nyaribari Chache MP Robert Monda will be the non-executive chairman of the Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council.
The President also appointed former Army Commander Lt Gen (Rtd) Joseph Kasaon to be the chairman of the Kenya Meat Commission for three years.
The President appointed Victor Mwongera to take over from Roni Osumba as the non-executive chairperson of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund Board for three years.
(Edited by V. Graham)