DCI Officer, Ferry Boss Summoned Over 2019 Tragedy Involving Woman & Daughter

The Mombasa Chief Magistrate’s Court has summoned Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) Managing Director Bakari Ngowa, Likoni Sub-county Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer (DCIO), and lead investigator Corporal Moses Mahiuha.

According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the summons involves the mishandling of critical CCTV footage in the ongoing inquest into the 2019 Likoni ferry tragedy.

Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku issued the summons on Thursday, July 17, after concerns were raised regarding missing or incomplete video evidence in the case of Mariam Kighenda, 35, and her four-year-old daughter, Amanda Mutheu, who drowned after their vehicle plunged into the Indian Ocean on September 29, 2019.

Principal Prosecution Counsel Alex Ndiema urged the court to compel the officials to explain the chain of custody for the CCTV footage, which, according to testimony, was handed over to KFS management by the original investigating officer instead of being formally submitted as evidence.

A photo of passengers onboard a ferry along the Likoni channel in Mombasa. /NATION MEDIA GROUP

During Thursday’s session, the investigating officer presented a brief video clip showing the vehicle slipping into the Likoni channel while aboard the ferry. However, the footage was found to be incomplete and failed to capture the full sequence of events preceding the tragedy.

"The magistrate raised concern over the legality of how the footage was handled and the gaps it contained, casting doubt on the integrity of the investigation by the corporal," the statement read in part. 

The testimony indicated that the corporal had surrendered the raw footage—believed to contain the full sequence of the incident—to KFS management, bypassing standard evidentiary procedures.

Consequently, Magistrate Ithuku ordered the Likoni Sub-county DCIO and the corporal to appear in court on July 24, 2025, to account for the missing footage and clarify the chain of custody.

The inquest seeks to establish responsibility for the circumstances that led to the vehicle's fatal plunge, which claimed two lives and raised longstanding questions over safety protocols at the busy Likoni channel.

The 2019 incident was one of the most tragic incidents in modern memory at the channel, and it occurred when a car slipped off a ferry midway, plunging into the waters, tragically drowning Kighenda and Mutheu.

The September incident, which saw agencies take a record 11 days to recover their bodies, drew condemnation and uproar over the safety of motorists in the channel.

Numerous incidents that have followed in a similar pattern over the years led to Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir openly calling for a total ban on vehicular traffic on ferries in a bid to ensure the safety of passengers using the ferry.

"The County Government of Mombasa is deeply concerned about the safety of all ferry users. As a measure to prevent future accidents, we will be proposing to the National Government a cessation of vehicular traffic on the ferry.

"This step aims to enhance safety for both pedestrians and motorists using the ferry," he revealed in a statement on October 6, 2024.

This was in response to an accident where nine people sustained injuries after a Chania Executive bus carrying passengers plunged into the Indian Ocean at the Likoni Ferry crossing channel in Mombasa. The bus was crossing over from the mainland to Ukunda when the incident occurred.

A day before the bus incident, a truck also plunged into the Indian Ocean, with reports suggesting the driver of the truck lost control while trying to avoid running over passengers at the Likoni Ferry crossing channel. While there were no casualties, that incident led to major delays at the channel.