John Wambua, the husband of the woman who lost her life in the Likoni ferry tragedy, would have suffered a similar fate as his wife and daughter in the Indian ocean, if not for a last minute decision.
The Standard reported on Tuesday, October 1, that the victim, Mariam Kigenda and her daughter Amanda Kigenda, were on their way to the family farm at Gasi in Msambweni when the tragedy struck.
Wambua, however, had decided not to accompany Kigenda as he usually did and opted to remain home instead.
"I normally accompany her to the farm, but on Sunday I opted to stay indoors with my son Elvis," he emotionally narrated.
The Standard further reported that Wambua, who learned of the tragedy on Twitter, ran from his house in Tudor to Likoni Police Station without shoes where he confirmed that indeed a saloon car had plunged into the sea from the ferry.
He narrated that he had spoken to her at about 6 pm when she boarded the ferry where she complained about the long queues and the information from the police had him preempting the worst.
"I tried to call her for the second time but I could not reach her, and that is when I decided to rush to Likoni Ferry to find out what could have happened to her," he was quoted.
He regretted the slow pace that the Kenya Ferry Services had adopted in the search and rescue operations.
Earlier on Monday, Kenya Ferry Services Managing Director Bakari Goa had explained why the Kenya Navy hadn't retrieved the car from the ocean.
He had stated that the Kenya Ferry Services officials and members of the Kenya Navy had discovered that the vehicle had sunk below the earlier stated 60 meters which made it harder for it to be recovered as they had anticipated.
He also confessed that by the time they discovered the incident, there was nothing that could have done as any attempts to wade that far in the sea would have been too dangerous without the necessary equipment.
As of Tuesday morning, the recovery operation was yet to begin, but the Kenya Ferry Service officers promised to start the operation and conclude it as soon as possible.
