Relatives’ agony over seamen held by pirates

When Eugene Onalo bid his wife Millicent Nelima goodbye last November, she was in high spirits and had a lot of expectations. Mr Onalo was leaving for a fishing expedition aboard a Kenyan registered fishing vessel, Fv Saboka, in the Indian Ocean.

Ms Nelima was happy that her husband, who had just completed training in Tanzania, had finally secured a job that would help them raise their young family. “He had been encouraged by his brother (John Onalo, who is also aboard the vessel) and he was thrilled to have finally realised his dream,” she said in an interview.

The mother of one did not expect to receive disturbing news that her beloved husband had been detained by pirates after the ship was hijacked. It is now two weeks since her husband and 16 other crew members – 10 of them Kenyans – were hijacked and she has not received any communication from him or his employers about their safety.

The young men’s mother, Ms Joyce Onalo, is also in shock. “I have not received word on whether my sons are safe but we keep praying for them,” she said. According to Ms Onalo, her older son (John) had been a seaman for over 10 years but had never been involved in a hijacking. That the two young men are together in the vessel sends a chill down her spine – their father died on the same day with his brother in Busia five years ago.

Before the vessel was hijacked, she said, she had spoken to her sons and they were optimistic that they would be home in less than four days since they were near Malindi coastline. (It is not yet clear the point at which the vessel was hijacked from either the Kenyan or Tanzanian coast).

Mr Adams Olwenyi, whose 34-year-old brother Bernard Ochieng is among the hostages, said he last spoke to his brother in December, last year. “Our government should do something and not just watch,” he said.

Disappointment

And Ms Grace Idah, whose husband of 17 years, Mr Edward Mwanzi, is also among the hostages, said when she got a message that her husband had been held, her thoughts drifted to their conversation in November, a few days before he left.  Mr Mwanzi, a seaman since 2000, had expressed disappointment over the low pay seafarers were subjected to, saying that this time he would not make good money as they would be paid less than Sh20,000 per month.

“Even before he set off for this journey he was in low spirits. He told me ‘Grace, were it not for the children I wouldn’t go to the sea this time…there are many dangers there. But we have to pay fees for our children and survive…’” Her two children, Sheila (16) Nelly (14), fear for their father.

“They watched the news about the capture on TV in school and called me crying. That night they did not sleep.” But as the relatives of the 10 men cry over their husbands and sons, details have emerged of how seamen are mistreated, especially those aboard fishing vessels.

For instance the family of a sailor who died in custody in Tanzania over a month ago is still waiting for help to bring the body of their son back home. Mr Juma Mohamed’s mother, Ms Mwanakombo Abdalla, said since her son died in early February, she had not received any help.

Mr Mohamed was arrested alongside 30 other sailors and charged with illegal fishing in a Tanzanian court. They were remanded in custody where he fell sick and died, said Mr Andrew Mwangura, the coordinator of the Seafarers Assistance Programme.

“The sailors were fishing aboard Fv Tawariq, which is registered in Oman, and after they were arrested the ship owners did not follow up the matter. Not even the Kenyan high commissioner in Tanzania has been able to help the two Kenyans still in custody,” said Mr Mwangura.

Mr Mwangura, who accompanied the family when they first travelled to Tanzania to view the body three weeks ago, said more than $5,000 (Sh380,000) would be required for mortuary fees and transport for family members. “My son was the bread winner of this family and we don’t have this kind of money,” said Mohammed’s father, Mr Deche Mwatsuma.

Employment in the shipping industry is generally very lucrative, but this is not the case for Kenyan seamen. According to maritime experts, the least a seaman could earn is $1,000 (Sh76,000) per month while Kenyans get as little as $250 (Sh19,000).

The Kenya Maritime Authority is however currently working on regulations touching on the welfare of seafarers, director general Ms Nancy Karigithu said. After the enactment of the Merchant Shipping Act last year, KMA is also mandated to look into the welfare of seafarers and maintains a list of all seamen in each a vessel.