Counties

Agency suspends two officials after Likoni ferry glitch

mv nyayo

Ferrying passengers across the Likoni channel. FILE photo | nmg

Two senior Kenya Ferry Service (KFS) staff have been suspended following the breakdown of a vessel that resulted in disruption of services at the Likoni Channel.

A coxswain and an operation supervisor were suspended after MV Nyayo, one of the biggest vessels broke down and caused panic at the busy channel on Monday morning.

The supervisor, who is said have worked in the position for more than five years, also operated as a coxswain at the agency, which has been hit by the frequent breakdown of ferries.

On Monday, the ferry’s fuel pipe burst midstream causing panic amongst commuters. The pipe was later fixed and the ferry returned to operation. Multiple sources told the Business Daily that the management had warned workers of suspensions in case of any breakdown of the vessels.

“We have clearly been warned that the supervisor, coxswain and the ramp controller would be sent packing if any problem occurs at the channel. Everyone is working under pressure,” said a senior official at the KFS who is not allowed to speak to the media.

By the time of going to press, KFS managing director Bakari Gowa was holed up in a meeting at his office and did not answer calls and texts sent in relation to the suspension of the employees.

The disciplinary action against the two officials comes even as engineers at the KFS wrote to the board requesting an “urgent meeting”.

READ: KFS seeks funding for Kisumu, Lamu and Turkana ferry expansion

The engineers did not want Mr Gowa to attend the meeting, according to an official who is privy to the letter.

Meanwhile, the management is working round the clock to have MV Jambo, which is eight months old repaired.

The vessel’s clutch broke down and the ferry was withdrawn from the channel two weeks ago and is yet to be repaired.

The management had said that the repairs were delayed as the spare parts of the ferry were ordered from abroad. The removal of the MV Jambo, which was bought in Turkey led to the withdrawal of MV Likoni from Mtongwe channel.

For three weeks now, Mtongwe residents have been forced to use the congested Likoni channel as they wait for services to resume at the Mtongwe channel.

Mr Gowa had in a past interview said services at the Mtongwe channel would resume after the MV Jambo is fixed.

President Uhuru Kenyatta reintroduced the services at the Mtongwe channel in March last year.

Currently, four vessels, the MV Likoni, MV Harambee, V Nyayo and MV Kilindini are operating at the Likoni channel and cater for the hundreds of the ferry users.