• A Senate committee wants three ferries, including the one that claimed the lives of a woman and her daughter in September, grounded.
• The ramp of the MV Harambee, on which Mariam Kighenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu's car slipped, was faulty.
Image: FILE
A Senate committee has recommended the grounding of the ferry that claimed the lives of a woman and her daughter at the Likoni channel in September.
The Senate Committee on Roads and Transportation said the MV Harambee, on which Mariam Kighenda and Amanda Mutheu's car slipped to their deaths, was faulty.
The committee notes that the ramp of the doomed ferry was not properly drawn at the time the victims boarded it, thereby leaving their car at a sloping angle.
As a result, the probe revealed, Kighenda, who was on the driver’s seat when the car slipped into the ocean, did not follow proper lines when boarding the ferry.
The two, aged 35 and four, died when their vehicle plunged into the ocean after sliding off MV Harambee on September 29.
Their bodies and the wreckage of their car were retrieved from the seabed 13 days later on October 10.
The committee report has also recommended the grounding of two other vessels.
“The video replays of the incident indicate that the driver and passenger of the vehicle, the late Ms Mariam Kighenda and Amanda Mutheu had not, in fact, exited their vehicle nor lowered their widows which meant that they could not escape in the event that the vehicle slipped into the sea,” reads the report in part.
The committee further revealed that there was no emergency rescue vehicles at the time of the accident which meant that the victims could not be rescued.
Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi chairs the committee.
The team noted that some of the ferries currently in operation, especially the older ones, do not have functional ramps, exposing users to the risk of slipping overboard.
“The committee recommended the halting of the defective ferries such as MV Harambee, MV Nyayo and MV Kilindini until funds are available to procure new ferries,” it said.
The panel directed the Ministry of Transport to ensure that all future vessels have available spare parts within the market for ease of maintenance.
The ferry agency has been directed to ensure all operating ferries have functional ramps to prevent a repeat of the September disaster.
The investigations also found out that though rudimentary rescue service has been put in place at the channel following the accident, more still needed to be done.
The committee has asked the Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) to outfit its vehicles for persons with disability in accordance with section 23 of the Persons with Disability Act, 2003.
Further, the committee held that KFS should ensure that it is protected from potentially adverse litigation arising from breach of occupier’s liability.
"The Kenya Coast Guard Services Act, 2018 should be implemented immediately and in particular section 8(i) regarding the provision of search and rescue services," the committee recommends.
On Saturday a man plunged to his death at the ferry crossing in an early morning incident.
The body of John Mutinda and his car were retrieved by mid-morning.
According to the Kenya Ferry Services, Mutinda's car sped off the ramp at high speed.
Further, KFS noted that the driver failed to stop the vehicle despite several efforts by ferry officials to flag him down.
(edited by O. Owino)