Intrigues that led to ouster of maritime agency boss

Former Director General Kenya Maritime Authority Martin Munga. [File, Standard]

A bungled search and rescue mission of a boat that capsized in Lake Turkana and questionable recruitment of 30 new staff are what led to the ouster of former Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) Director General Martin Munga .

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption (EACC) wrote to KMA on August 30 seeking information about the recruitment and deployment of its staff after complaints from the public and civil societies. The boat capsised on August 8, 2024. Mr Munga was appointed in December 2023

EACC said it was investigating allegations of irregular recruitment of staff during the financial year 2022/2023 and 2023/2024. Munga and the board pointed accusing fingers at each over the recruitment.

“To facilitate our investigation, the commission requests for certified copies of the KMA board approvals, approved budget, payroll, copy of advertisement, and a full list of applicants,” stated the letter by Fatuma Saad.

However, yesterday, a section of the employees claimed that Munga had an acrimonious working relationship with KMA board members due to allegations of graft in the agency.

They said that Munga’s alleged failure to swiftly deploy logistical support to a marine accident involving MV Boys at Lake Turkana was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

In a letter, Shipping and Maritime Affairs Principal Secretary Geoffrey Kaituko said KMA failed to approve logistical support for the boat.

In a letter dated September 3, the PS gave Munga up to September 6 to explain why KMA failed to inform the Ministry about the accident and mobilise resources to rescue the crew.

The PS said MV Boys capsised on August 8 at around 8 PM with 10 passengers onboard - two persons were rescued, one body was found, and seven went missing. But independent sources Indicate that the number of passengers on the ill-fated boat was 17 - seven men, 10 women, and two children. These reports indicate that 15 passengers went missing.

It was not clear why KMA delayed the deployment of resources for the rescue mission. We however established that Munga is said to have been frustrated by the old staff who saw him as an outsider.

“It is saddening to note that as reported, search and rescue operations came to a halt due to lack of logistical approvals by your office, including facilitation of fuel to conduct such a critical operation,” stated the letter from the PS to Munga.

In the letter copied to Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho, the PS said that KMA, owing to its mandate, should have allocated adequate resources for the mission.

“The purpose of this letter is to direct you to provide reasons why this office was never informed of the incident and how the authority responded in conducting and supporting the search and rescue operation as mandated by the law,” stated the letter.

“You are to furnish this office with a detailed report on accountability for the reported missing while on board the boat. Your response should reach the undersigned without fail by Friday, September 6, 2024.”

KMA Chairman Hamisi Mwaguya said that the board sat on September 20 and resolved to send Munga on compulsory leave and appointed Julius Koech, Director of Safety, as the acting DG.

Munga, a naval architectural engineer, was appointed KMA Director General in December last year to replace acting director general John Omingo. His appointment was contested.

Importantly, since he took over, there have been boardroom wars, allegations of irregular employment  of 30 people, and corruption amid huge budget cuts from the exchequer.

“KMA wanted to shift from the commercial aspect of maritime and shipping business into shipbuilding and that is why the board appointed Munga, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering graduate from Bremen University of Applied Sciences,” said a KMA employee.

Dr Nancy Karigithu left the authority in December 2015, after serving for nine years. Since then, KMA has been a revolving door with most substantive DGs finding it difficult to lead.

After Dr Karigithu left, Cosmas Cherop was appointed acting director general but was later replaced by George Macgoye in an acting capacity.

Later, the KMA board appointed Major (rtd) George Okong’o as the substantive director general. “Okong’o came in as KMA’s focus was on security,” said the KMA official.

However, following differences with the board and the Ministry of Transport, Major Okong’o resigned in July 2020, citing frustrations from a senior officer at the Ministry.

Independent sources claimed that senior government officials have a habit of bypassing the director general and dealing with his juniors on official matters, frustrating the KMA boss.

However, there are also local, regional, and global politics at play due to its mandate to enforce strict maritime standards on international ships and logistics service providers in Kenya.

KMA gets 99 percent of its income from charging levies on ship inspections and training. In 2022, it collected Sh1.2 billion but the figure dropped last year by 36 per cent due to low traffic.