Likoni Ferry Tragedy: Court Demands Answers Over Missing Footage, Faulty Safety Systems

A judicial inquest into the 2019 Likoni ferry tragedy has taken a critical turn, with a Mombasa court summoning senior officials from Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) and the National Police Service to address the mishandling of crucial CCTV footage. 

The summons, issued by Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku, compels KFS General Manager Bakari Gowa, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer for Likoni Sub-county, and Corporal Moses Mahiuha to appear in court on 24 July. The court seeks clarification regarding the chain of custody and circumstances surrounding video evidence related to the incident, which resulted in the deaths of Mariam Kigenda and her four-year-old daughter, Amanda Mutheu.

The inquest centres on the events of 29 September 2019, when the victims’ vehicle, a Toyota Isis registered as KCB 289C, reversed off the MV Harambee ferry and plunged into the Indian Ocean. The CCTV footage, purportedly capturing the incident, has become central to the investigation, amid growing concerns over its integrity and the procedures followed in its handling.

Principal Prosecution Counsel Alex Ndiema has requested the court to mandate personal testimonies from the officials, raising critical concerns over the legality and credibility of how the footage was managed. Current investigating officer Bob Otieno, was previously stood down due to concerns over a presented clip. This clip allegedly only showed the vehicle slipping into the sea and was subsequently deemed insufficient by the court because it lacked the full sequence of events that precipitated the tragedy.

The court raised concerns about apparent procedural irregularities in the investigation led by Corporal Mahiuha, after being informed that the original investigating officer had directly transferred the raw footage to KFS management. It has been alleged that the footage was not preserved through proper investigative channels, instead being transferred informally to KFS officials.

Beyond the missing footage, the inquest has uncovered troubling information regarding the operational condition of the MV Harambee at the time of the incident. Kennedy Mukhebu, an engineering technician, testified that the ferry’s prows—safety mechanisms designed to prevent vehicles from rolling off—were defective and inoperable. He argued that this failure directly contributed to the vehicle’s fatal descent into the ocean.

KFS General Manager Gowa has admitted that the ferry’s safety systems were compromised and that he was aware of the faulty prows. He attributed the failure to carry out necessary repairs to chronic underfunding, revealing that a comprehensive overhaul of MV Harambee had been proposed but never implemented due to budgetary constraints. Another witness corroborated this claim, stating that a "repair wish list" had been drafted prior to the accident but remained unfulfilled.

Despite these known mechanical deficiencies, the MV Harambee continued to operate both before and after the tragedy. The victims’ vehicle, reportedly the last to board the ferry, slipped into the ocean approximately six minutes after departure, at around 6:13 pm. Their bodies were recovered 13 days later, following a complex multi-agency retrieval operation.