Has the Likoni ferry linking Mombasa Island to the mainland in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa been shut down during the coronavirus crisis? That’s the claim in a document shared on Facebook.
Signed “by management” and with the subject “Likoni ferry lockdown”, the document reads: “The management has learned that there will be closure of Ferry services effective tomorrow 25 March 2020.
“We advise all our staff to arrange temporary alternative residence on the island and other areas of Mombasa.”
According to Kenya Ferry Services, the ferry normally carries “over 300,000 pedestrians and more than 6,000 vehicles daily across the channel” between the island and the mainland. Has the service been shut down?

On 25 March Kenya Ferry Services posted the document on Twitter with “FAKE NEWS” stamped on it in red.
“This is to inform all our customers that ferry operations are going on as per schedule,” KFS tweeted. “Kindly ignore any misleading information from unauthorized source.”
The Likoni ferry service does face restrictions during Kenya’s coronavirus curfew. It’s reported that vehicles will only be able to cross the channel between 11am and 3pm, to allow the smooth flow of pedestrians.
But the ferry has not been shut down. – Grace Gichuhi
Signed “by management” and with the subject “Likoni ferry lockdown”, the document reads: “The management has learned that there will be closure of Ferry services effective tomorrow 25 March 2020.
“We advise all our staff to arrange temporary alternative residence on the island and other areas of Mombasa.”
According to Kenya Ferry Services, the ferry normally carries “over 300,000 pedestrians and more than 6,000 vehicles daily across the channel” between the island and the mainland. Has the service been shut down?

‘Ferry operations going on’
On 25 March Kenya Ferry Services posted the document on Twitter with “FAKE NEWS” stamped on it in red.
“This is to inform all our customers that ferry operations are going on as per schedule,” KFS tweeted. “Kindly ignore any misleading information from unauthorized source.”
The Likoni ferry service does face restrictions during Kenya’s coronavirus curfew. It’s reported that vehicles will only be able to cross the channel between 11am and 3pm, to allow the smooth flow of pedestrians.
But the ferry has not been shut down. – Grace Gichuhi
Republish our content for free
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
Add new comment