The Kilifi County government, after hearing from all local authorities, has given its final verdict on the Watamu excursion boat accident that capsized Saturday morning causing the official death of three people, Kenyan nationals, and the virtually certain death of a fourth, an eight-year-old boy, who is still missing.
"The boat capsized due to overloading of passengers and sea conditions," Kilifi County said in a statement released to the media.
That is to say, 30 passengers is too many for that kind of "marine safari" boat (there were actually 29, 13 Italians and 16 Kenyans, but were the boat's staff members, who usually number at least three, counted? What about other chaperones and "beach boys" who would have boarded other boats to help the tourists? Not surprisingly, early witnesses spoke of some 40 people). Clearly, those who organize and operate the boats, just as they do with buses and other means on land, tend to accommodate as many paying people as possible, trusting the statistics anyway (nothing ever happens). On this kind of boats actually, according to experts, no more than 12-15 people could be accommodated, that is, those who can sit in the assigned seats.
To the County's final remarks, we would add that there are two very bad habits on the part of the owners or managers of the boats that go over the reef: the first is to seat tourists on the roof of the boats, a roof that was built to provide shade for the passengers but which in fact, with the addition of a ladder, has always been used as a "sundeck" and as a special open-air observatory. Those who sit on the roof actually change its center of gravity and cause the waterline to shift, making it more unsafe than how it was designed.
Let alone with sea and wind conditions like last Saturday.
Secondly. It is IMPENSABLE that there are no life jackets on the boats for everyone and that those who cannot swim are not required to put them on as soon as they get on the boat. It is no coincidence that the deceased are children or women who were not accustomed to high water.
"We will increase beach monitors to ensure safety compliance and ensure timely response to emergencies and accidents. We will also work with the Kenya Marine Authority to train more security and emergency response personnel," the county writes.
How many times have we read words like these after every incident. Let us hope that this time a governor so sensitive and accustomed to tourism and its problems will turn them into deeds.
All it would take is a simple check on the departure of boats and already the risk of these accidents, which fortunately on the coast are very rare (during this summer period, one in Mombasa that caused six deaths and this one in Watamu), would be reduced in a fundamental way.