The recent Lake Baringo boat tragedy has exposed how boat operators and passengers throw caution to the wind and fail to follow basic safety standards, as it emerged that the ill-fated vessel was being steered by a 16-year-old coxswain.
The boat was carrying 23 passengers against the recommended capacity of eight in the April 21 tragedy that claimed seven lives.
Neither the coxswain nor the 23 passengers were wearing life jackets when the boat capsized between Parmalok and Kokwa islands.
It has also emerged that only two of the dozens of coxswains operating on the lake are licensed, suggesting a disaster in waiting.
Wilson Lemkut, 45, a boat rider.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
The passengers on the ill-fated boat were mostly primary and secondary school learners from the Kabikoki Revival Church in Salabani, Baringo South, who were on their way to a youth camp on Kokwa Island. Only 16 of them survived the tragedy.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the ill-fated boat was overloaded, carrying 23 people instead of the recommended eight, and more worryingly, the coxswain, who has since been arrested, was a minor.
"The boat is meant to carry only eight people but was overloaded with 23. To make matters worse, the coxswain was a minor, a 16-year-old boy, and there was not a single life jacket in the boat," said Baringo County Police Commander Julius Kiragu.
Police have since arrested officials of the Ng'enyin Conservancy, which owns the boat, to establish who allowed the minor to sail it.
Baringo County Commissioner Stephen Kutwa has blamed the accidents on Lake Baringo on incompetence and lack of enforcement of safety standards by the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA).
"Following the recent boat tragedy, we have observed that there is poor management of traffic on the lake due to lack of enforcement. The KMA, which is mandated to regulate and ensure that boats carry the right number of passengers, has no office here," said Mr Kutwa.
To tame the rogue boat riders, the county commissioner said they have streamlined fishing activities in the lake by regulating fishing points and also identifying experienced coxswains who will be allowed to operate.
Baringo Lake Senior Warden Jackson Komen attributed the boat accidents in the lake to boat operators ignoring safety rules, with some overloading their boats, carrying people without life jackets and some operating boats while drunk.
Wilson Lemkut during the interview.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
According to the senior warden, all boats operating on the lake are controlled by the beach management units, but the coxswain of the recent boat tragedy sneaked in from the village through one of the islands to ferry the youths.
"There have been several accidents on this lake, mostly caused by boat operators who don't take safety precautions. Some ferry people across the lake without life jackets, while others carry more people than the recommended number," Mr Komen said.
In December 2022, a speedboat carrying 12 people from two families capsized on the lake, killing three people, including two minors.
In 2017, a Ruko Conservancy boat collided head-on with a tourist boat carrying students, causing both to capsize.
Fortunately, everyone on board survived the accident, which was blamed on a drunk coxswain who fell asleep in the middle of the water.
In 2004, a boat carrying teachers and board members of Hill School in Nairobi capsized in the lake, killing eight people, while four were rescued. The vessel was found to have been overloaded and those on board had no life jackets.
Wilson Lemkut, 45, a boat rider.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
According to investigators, only two out of the many boat riders in Lake Baringo are licensed to operate. The rest are riding out of experience.
Mr Komen said the devolved unit, in collaboration with other partners, plans to train boat operators on the lake on riding skills, safety issues and rescue operations, an exercise that will be led by KMA, the Kenya Coast Guard Service and the Kenya Red Cross.
"We also want to scale up the training of beach management units to strengthen their governance and operations. We also want to sensitise all communities bordering the lake on safety. Despite using the lake, most people are not aware of the precautions they need to take while on board watercraft," said the Baringo Lake Chief Warden.
In the interest of safety, Ilchamus ward MCA Wesley Lekakimon suggested that committees at each of Lake Baringo's ten beaches be equipped with radio communication equipment to ensure prompt response to such incidents.
Wilson Lemukut, from Kokwa Island in Lake Baringo, who helped rescue the 16 youths who survived after a boat carrying 23 people capsized last Sunday. Lemukut, who owns a boat, went to the rescue despite huge waves in the lake then.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
"We should also have an ambulance stationed in the area to respond and save lives," he noted.
Baringo County Deputy Governor Felix Maiyo appealed to boat riders and locals to be extra cautious, noting that the boating tragedy could have been avoided if certain safety measures had been followed.
"The beach management units and the boat owners' association should enforce regulations and laws to ensure that the vessels only carry the allowed capacity and are always in good condition to avoid such incidents," he said.
"Anyone boarding a boat should also wear a life jacket to increase their chances of survival in the event of an accident," he said.
