It has emerged that Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) had been warned 12 months ago by the state auditor general concerning high risks of motorists and commuters sliding from the vessels into the salty waters of the Indian Ocean.
In a report dated back in July 6th 2018, Auditor General Edward Ouko sounded a warning to KFS over their vessels' pulleys.
According to the report highlighted out by the Standard, the auditor had warned the KFS that ferry users were at risk due to time-to-time submerging of the plows caused by unstable pulleys.
“It was observed that most of the pulleys on most ferries are defective thus causing the plows to be submerged in water when the ferries are moving. This endangers both pedestrians and motorists.” read Ouko's report as quoted by the Standard.
A year later, a car on MV Harambee applying from Likoni main land to Mombasa Island slides and plunges into the ocean with a mother and her child on board.
A number of divers have camped at the channel since Sunday when the accident occurred but until now they have not managed to salvage the car and two bodies.
Ouko also noted possible compensation problems when risks occur due to lack of an insurance cover for the third party, in this case, ferry users.
This has come to pass after the situation made Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho to offer Ksh2 million to have the family hire high skilled deep-sea divers from South Africa to aid in the rescue operation.
“The company has not insured all ferries for third-party liability, therefore it would be difficult for the company to settle liabilities in case of an accident which requires compensation.” Ouko's report added.