Governor Joho condoles with Likoni ferry tragedy victims, pledges support

Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho, on Wednesday, October 2, finally spoke about the Likoni Ferry Tragedy four days after it occurred.

The governor condoled with the deceased’s family and also called for residents’ patience as the retrieval mission was still in progress.

“It has been a painful wait for the family and relatives of Mariam Kighenda and her daughter as rescue operations intensify at the Likoni Channel,” he began.

A screen-grab of the moment the vehicle sank into the Indian Ocean ending the lives of a mother and her 4-year-old daughter.
A screen-grab of the moment the vehicle sank into the Indian Ocean ending the lives of a mother and her 4-year-old daughter.
He went ahead to meekly explain the reason for the delay of the operation which has been unsuccessful so far.

“We understand the complexity of the search operations being the reason for the delay, and therefore we are asking for patience. We are part of the multi-agency team involved in the search operations,” Joho added.

The Mombasa governor also called on the Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) to enhance safety measures by ensuring that movable barriers are mounted to secure cars that could develop mechanical problems.

He also outlined that such accidents while at sea were not uncommon.

“This is not the first time this is happening. My condolences go to the family of Miriam,” he offered.

This comes after social media users attacked the governor for keeping mum about the incident that took place in his county.

Following the tragedy, a section of Kenyans took offence on why Governor Joho hadn’t taken up the issue because by Monday, almost 24 hours after the tragedy, he hadn’t released any statement.

On Sunday evening, the county head was enjoying an entertaining evening with Tanzanian hitmaker Ommy Dimpoz.

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, on Monday, September 30, upon seeing his counterpart’s silence, offered aid to the kin and friends of the victims of the Likoni Ferry tragedy.

The emergency team was deployed to aid in recovery operations at the scene of the accident.