Bakari Gowa, current general manager of Ferry Operations and former managing director of Kenya Ferry Services, has been summoned to court over the 2019 Likoni ferry tragedy that claimed the lives of a mother and her four-year-old daughter.
A Mombasa court has issued a fresh summons for Mr Bakari Gowa, general manager of Ferry Operations, in connection with the September 29, 2019 ferry accident that claimed the lives of a mother and her four-year-old daughter.
Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku issued the summons after prosecution counsel Alex Ndiema requested that the former managing director of Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) be recalled to clarify critical issues relating to ferry operations that contributed to the accident.
Bakari Gowa, current general manager of Ferry Operations and former managing director of Kenya Ferry Services, has been summoned to court over the 2019 Likoni ferry tragedy that claimed the lives of a mother and her four-year-old daughter.
This followed a testimony by Corporal Moses Mahiuha, the initial investigating officer, who said that only the ferry management, led by Mr Gowa at the time, could answer the difficult questions he was asked about the operational failures that led to the tragedy.
Mr Mahiuha explained that he had only handled the case for two months before handing it over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Likoni.
“Yes, there was an offence committed. I would have found someone culpable for negligence had I continued with the investigations,” he told the court.
The magistrate then sought clarification from Mr Mahiuha on whether he had encountered challenges or obstacles during his inquiry, which might have influenced the decision to refer the matter to an inquest rather than recommending direct culpability.
“Your Honour, I handled the file for two months before handing it over to the DCIO Likoni. They may be in a better position to explain. I had not completed investigations by the time I handed over the file,” he said.
The response prompted Mr Ndiema to request the court to recall the Likoni DCIO to explain how the investigations were handled after the file was handed over to them.
Police Constable John Safari, a forensic imaging and acoustic analyst from the DCI headquarters, is also wanted in court.
Mr Mahiuha, who appeared in court under a warrant of arrest, testified on the steps he took after he was assigned to investigate the accident in which Mariam Kigenda, aged 35, and her daughter Amanda Mutheu, aged 4, died. The two lost their lives when their vehicle reversed and plunged into the ocean shortly after the 30-year-old MV Harambee departed from Likoni Island.
The court heard that the crucial CCTV footage, meant to show the full sequence of events, was improperly handled.
The officer produced in court the complete video footage and still photographs showing the tragic sequence of events.
The footage showed the vehicle boarding the ferry as the last car. Shortly afterwards, the ferry left the Likoni side without the safety prows being raised. The video captured the vehicle slowly reversing before plunging into the ocean at exactly 6.13pm.
The footage also showed the ferry manoeuvring towards the vehicle, seemingly in an attempt to assist, before the car became completely submerged in the rough waters of the Indian Ocean.
“According to the coxswain, he tried to bring the ferry towards the sinking vehicle in an attempt to save it, but the car submerged,” said Mr Mahiuha.
He added that a rescue boat only arrived three minutes later, by which time the vehicle had already disappeared beneath the water. When questioned about ferry safety, Mr Mahiuha reiterated that only the ferry management under Mr Gowa could adequately address those concerns.
“KFS was at the time under Mr Gowa. I later learnt it merged with the Kenya Ports Authority, but the management at the time can answer questions on ferry safety,” he said.
The car which plunged into the Indian Ocean killing Mariam Kigenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu, parked at the Kenya Ferry Police Station in Mombasa in this photo taken on October 12, 2019.
Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor also testified virtually, confirming the cause of death of the two victims. “The deceased died of asphyxia due to drowning,” he said.
The inquest has been overshadowed by controversy over missing CCTV footage. During one of the hearings, the court was shown an incomplete clip, raising suspicions of mishandling. But the court later heard that the complete footage had been returned to KFS instead of being kept as an exhibit.
The lapse prompted a warrant of arrest against Mr Mahiuha after he failed to appear in court to explain the irregularity. It later emerged that the footage had been segmented into three parts and that a complete version still existed. Likoni DCIO Reuben Lwambi confirmed seeing the full sequence, which captured the victims’ vehicle reversing before plunging into the Indian Ocean.
Lwambi admitted that returning the exhibit to KFS was against procedure and that the omission of key details was clearly not in order. The eventual production of the full footage in court prompted the recall of Mr Gowa and the Likoni DCIO to clarify critical issues regarding the tragedy and the investigations.
The inquest has further revealed damning testimony regarding the condition of the MV Harambee ferry at the time of the tragedy. Engineering technician Kennedy Mukhebu previously told the court that the ferry’s prows, crucial safety features designed to prevent vehicles from slipping off the vessel, were faulty and could not be lifted. The court heard that had they been functional, the car would not have reversed into the ocean.
Passengers board MV Harambee as MV Safari arrives at the Likoni crossing on December 28, 2022.
In an earlier hearing, Mr Gowa admitted that the ferry’s safety systems were compromised and that he had been aware of the defective prows before the accident. He cited lack of government funding as the primary reason that critical repairs, including a full overhaul of MV Harambee, had not been carried out.
This testimony was corroborated by another witness who confirmed that a repair list had been drawn up before the tragedy but budgetary limitations prevented its implementation. Despite these defects being known, the ferry continued to operate both before and after the fatal incident.
The court also heard that the victim’s vehicle, which had boarded last, slipped into the ocean about six minutes after departure at approximately 6:13pm. The bodies of Ms Kigenda and her daughter were recovered 13 days later following a complex multi-agency retrieval operation.
