The bodies of Mrs. Mariam Kigenda and her beautiful four-year-old daughter Amanda continue to lay on the floor of the Indian Ocean approximately 40 hours since they plunged in while onboard their Toyota ISIS car registration number KCB 289C while onboard the old and dilapidated MV Harambee at Likoni.
Mariam Kigenda and her daughter Amanda got into the tragic accident on Sunday, 29th September 2019, evening in front of glaring cameras of onlookers who gazed helplessly.
The search for the vehicle and the two occupants, mother, and daughter, was yesterday, 30th September, scheduled for today, 1st October, to start at 8:30 am but the Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) reported challenges in the operation.
Mariam and her daughter met their death as the KFS officials stared as Kenyans filmed the tragic event going by videos doing rounds on the social media where the car is seen to be drowning amid screams from onlookers.
As KFS seeks a way forward to take out the bodies of the two, local and the International media is closely watching at one of Kenya’s most humiliating display of its inability to ensure safety at the port not to forget its lack of disaster management.
The case of Mariam and her daughter has exposed Kenya’s lack of ability to handle disasters at the port and its use of exhausted ferries which are risking the lives of the thousands that board them.
As friends and relatives of the Kigendas flock Likoni waiting for the bodies of their loved ones, it is likely that our Government will not learn the need of actual disaster management at the Port with lesser bureaucracy unless a bigger number drowns at the Indian Ocean.
Two of the ferries at the Likoni Port have outlived their years of service but the Kenyan Government is either too corrupt or too broke to afford new ferries that would ensure the safety of those crossing at the Port.
Family and friends of Kigendas watched helplessly as the Kenya Navy practiced ahead of the upcoming Mashujaa day, they stared at the Ocean hoping for a miracle and feeling let down by the Country they knew to be home.
A question kept on ringing in my mind what if it was the President’s car or the First Lady’s that had sunk? Would they still lay on the floor of the Indian Ocean? Would it be business as usual in Kenya?
Over 5000 vehicles cross onboard ferries every single day paying around 300 shillings per vehicle, meaning that 1.5 million shillings is collected every day and over 200,000 individuals are exposed to the risk of drowning without any assurance that there could be an effort of saving them.
As the Kenya Navy gears on its efforts to entertain the President and be praised with a lot of jargon, it is important for them to note that they did not only fail the Kigenda’s family, they have failed Kenyans and now we know they only exist for entertainment not to serve Kenyans.