Martin and Mary left for Zanzibar for their honeymoon. Nobody has heard from them since then, with fears they may be among the passengers in the ill-fated ferry that capsized enroute from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 1 – On Saturday July 14, relatives, colleagues and friends joined Mary Mwangi as she exchanged nuptials with her new groom Martin Kirimi at a lively garden wedding along the Thika Superhighway in Nairobi.
Three days after the wedding, Martin and Mary left Kenya for Tanzania to start their 10-day honeymoon. Everything was well planned. They were to go by road from Kenya to Tanzania just so as to enjoy nature, sleep over in Dar-es-Salaam and then leave for Zanzibar the following day.
“They left Kenya on 17th July for their planned honeymoon in Zanzibar,” Martin Telewa, a relative told Capital FM News adding that they were to leave on July 16 but delayed because they had to get a yellow fever jab.
The couple communicated with some family members when they reached Namanga, the border of Kenya and Tanzania and confirmed that they were well.
That is the last time the family heard from them.
“They had promised to call when they reach Dar-es-salaam, but they did not. We assumed it was because they were having fun but when the ferry capsized we got concerned,” Telewa explained.
The couple was scheduled to cross over to Zanzibar using the ferry services on Wednesday July 18, the same day that a ferry capsized killing at least 128 people on board. Some are yet to be found.
The family is now worried and not sure whether Martin and Mary were on that ill-fated ferry.
They are seeking assistance from members of public who may have any leads about the couple to inform them.
“Two brothers have flown to Dar-es-salaam but they have not got any information yet,” Telewa said.
The family has sought assistance from the Kenyan embassy in Tanzania which they say has been helpful. Telewa said the embassy has put adverts in a Tanzanian local daily for any information.
The couple was to return to Kenya last week after their honeymoon.
The ferry which was officially carrying almost 290 passengers and crew, including more than 30 children, went down in choppy waters off Zanzibar after leaving Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam around midday of Wednesday 18th July.
It was the second such tragedy in less than a year.
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