Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) officials and senior police officers have been summoned to court over missing CCTV footage of the 2019 Likoni tragedy that claimed the lives of Mariam Kigenda and her daughter, Amanda Mutheu.
KFS General Manager Bakari Gowa, the Likoni Sub-county Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer (DCIO) and Corporal Moses Mahiuha are required to appear in court on July 24 to explain their handling of the crucial CCTV footage in the ongoing inquest into the deaths of the two.
Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku issued the summons following concerns over the integrity of the video evidence, which has been deemed incomplete.
The footage pertains to the September 29, 2019, incident in which Ms Kigenda, 35, and her four-year-old daughter drowned after their vehicle plunged into the ocean after slipping off MV Harambee.
Mariam Kigenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu who died after the car they were in plunged into the Indian Ocean in 2019.
Photo credit: File
Principal Prosecution Counsel Alex Ndiema requested that the court compel the three officials to appear in person to clarify the chain of custody of the CCTV footage.
It is alleged that the original investigating officer handed the footage directly to KFS management instead of formally submitting it as part of the official evidence.
The issue of the incomplete footage came to light during the inquest after Mr Bob Otieno, the current investigating officer, presented a brief video clip showing the vehicle slipping off the ferry into the ocean.
However, the clip was described as too short and lacking the full sequence of events leading to the tragedy.
The complete footage is reported to show the moment when the victims’ vehicle, a Toyota Isis, registration number KCB 289C, reversed and plunged into the ocean.
Likoni ferry tragedy: Retrieval efforts made so far
Following this development, Mr Otieno was stood down from testifying after the video he produced failed to depict the full chain of events surrounding the incident.
The magistrate raised concerns over the legality and credibility of how the footage was handled, casting doubt on the integrity of the investigation led by Corporal Mahiuha.
The court was informed that Mr Mahiuha had handed over the raw footage to KFS management instead of preserving it through proper investigative procedures.
“Summons are hereby issued to Mr Gowa, the DCIO for Likoni Sub-county, and Mr Mahiuha to appear before this court and clarify the chain of custody and circumstances surrounding the handling of the CCTV evidence,” ruled Magistrate Ithuku.
Beyond the questions over the missing footage, the inquest has also revealed damning testimony about the condition of MV Harambee at the time of the incident.
Engineering technician Kennedy Mukhebu told the court in an earlier hearing that the ferry’s prows—critical safety features meant to prevent vehicles from slipping off—were faulty and could not be lifted.
The car which plunged into the Indian Ocean killing Mariam Kigenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu before it was pulled out of the Likoni channel at the Kenya Ferry Police Station in Mombasa in this photo taken on October 12, 2019.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
The court heard that had the prows been functional, the victims’ car would not have reversed and fallen into the ocean.
Mr Gowa admitted that the ferry’s safety systems were compromised and that he had been aware of the faulty prows prior to the accident.
He cited a lack of government funding as the main obstacle to conducting critical repairs, including a full overhaul of MV Harambee.
Another witness corroborated this, stating that a “repair wish list” had been prepared before the accident, but budgetary constraints hampered its implementation.
Despite the known defects, the ferry continued operating both before and after the fatal incident.
Mariam Kigenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu.
Photo credit: Pool | Nation
The court also heard that the victims’ vehicle had been the last in line on the ferry and slipped into the ocean about six minutes after departure, at around 6.13 pm.
The bodies of Ms Kigenda and her daughter were recovered 13 days later following a complex multi-agency retrieval effort.
