Police on Friday evening used teargas to disperse a rowdy crowd at the Likoni ferry crossing channel.
At least 20 people were injured in the ensuing melee. Some were clobbered by the GSU and inspectorate personnel, while some fell and were trampled on. A woman fainted during the chaos.
Journalists covering the chaos were not spared. They were beaten by the GSU officers.
NTV’s Peter Wainaina was manhandled by GSU officers who wanted him to stop filming.
“They kicked me in the butt and punched me at the back of my head,” Wainaina said.
The chaos started after GSU officers, Coast Guard personnel and a team from the Mombasa county inspectorate were overwhelmed by the crowd as people scrambled to board ferries.
Bakari Semela, a frequent ferry user residing in Likoni, said, "It's crazy. People just started yelling saying they are being kept waiting in queues for too long."
Muslim for Human Rights officers Ernest cornel and Francis Auma were also caught up in the chaos.
“In as much as the police were trying to control the crowd, they need to do better in crowd management. You cannot assault journalists covering an event. It is wrong,” Cornel said.
“They cause more harm than good.”
For the better part of Friday, the commuters were disciplined, patiently queuing for hours to get to the three ferries that are carrying passengers only.
Queues were as long as 1km, stretching past the Loreto Convent Primary School to near the Aga Khan Hospital stage.
Police had to put a barrier at the Likoni roundabout, just before descending to the ferries.
Matatus and other PSVs were made to drop passengers at Pandya.
Mombasa inspectorate officers manned the Pandya roundabout.
However, the bigger the crowd got, the more impatient people grew.
"Eventually, there was a stampede, just like yesterday," one of the ferry workers told the Star.
On Thursday, five people were injured as the crowd surged forward, scrambling to get to the ferry, defying all orders by government personnel.
Coast regional coordinator John Elungata on Thursday gave instructions that are to be followed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
“Anyone who will violate any of the directives will be prosecuted," he said.