Mwanza ferries become Kenya’s tourists paradise

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Moses Odhiambo

Kisumu. A fleet of luxury speedboats that were rejected in Tanzania and dumped in Mwanza for seven years has become a tourist attraction in Kenya’s section of Lake Victoria, The Citizen can reveal today.

Lake Express II (Photo by Hans Kristoffersen)

The speedboat transport saga rocked the nation in 2004 when the government-through the then Minister for works-refused to allow the vessels to be transported by road to Mwanza. The owners had to chart an alternative route in neighbouring Kenya.

The speedboats finally arrived in Mwanza city in August 2005 - having journeyed by road all the way from Dar es Salaam to Mombasa and on to Kisumu. Once there, the speedboats were assembled and refurbished. Only then did they cruise to Mwanza city - ending months of political bickering among cabinet ministers in the Benjamin Mkapa administration.

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