Johannesburg — Two Senegalese ministers have resigned after last week's ferry catastrophe, which cost the lives of an estimated 1000 passengers. Official figures put the number of survivors at just 64.
President Abdoulaye Wade accepted the resignations of his Transport Minister, Youssouph Sakho, and the minister responsible for the armed forces, Youba Sambou.
The Senegalese navy operated the state-run ferry, The Joola, which was designed to hold 550 passengers. But on the night it capsized, in stormy weather, the overcrowded vessel was reported to be carrying double its load. The official number of passengers aboard has been revised upwards from 800 to 1,034.
Many schoolchildren and students perished aboard the ferry. They were heading from the southern port city of Ziguinchor, in the troubled Casamance region, to start a new academic year in the capital Dakar. Sea journeys have become the preferred form of travel, rather than hazardous road transport, because of the low-level 20-year rebellion in the region.
The ferry had only recently gone back into service, after a year of repairs, but questions have been asked about its seaworthiness and maintenance.
Last week, Wade accepted government blame for the disaster, the worst maritime tragedy in Senegal's 42-year history. He said the sinking of The Joola was due to an "accumulation of errors," adding that the ferry was designed to travel on lakes and was inappropriate for ocean-going voyages on the high seas. It is thought the departure of the ministers was an indication that they were publicly being associated with the disaster.
Wade ordered an immediate enquiry into the sinking. The first results were expected Wednesday. But this has not stopped condemnation of the government, a sense of outrage and growing public anger as more details emerged about the extent of overcrowding on the boat.
The French News Agency reported Tuesday that the Senegal Consumers' Association (Ascosen) had announced plans to sue the state for "negligence leading to the deaths of almost 1,000 persons". Referring to amateur television footage of the ferry, an Ascosen statement said: "We have all seen the surreal pictures, showing The Joola listing to one side, its waterline completely submerged, because of overloading. In spite of that, it took on extra cargo on its departure from Ziguinchor".
The Senegalese leader was himself sharply criticised for going to Ghana on Sunday, for a crisis meeting on the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire, called by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). Wade is the current Ecowas chairman.
In his first national address since the tragedy Tuesday, Wade said "the many failings revealed will be punished without haste and on the basis of careful investigation". He added: "I decided that the truth, the whole truth will be revealed".
He told CNN "there will be prosecutions, of course. Under our law, if a person, by negligence, provokes an accident or the death of a person, he has to be tried." Wade said those found responsible would be tried before the courts.
The Armed Forces minister said his resignation was to open the way for the investigation. "Senegal has experienced a profound trauma over the past five days. For the truth to come out, I've decided to leave the government, with the sole aim of giving the president a free hand in dealing with this matter, " said Sambou, whose ministry was responsible for running The Joola.
There have been harrowing scenes of long lines of family members and friends of the victims, assembled at Dakar City Hall, to try to identify their loved ones from photos of the dead. But, though relatives continued the picture search on Tuesday, decomposition and disfigurement made identification difficult.
These were the bodies of victims, kept on ice, that divers had managed to retrieve from the sea off the Gambian coast, where The Joola overturned late last Thursday night. Hundreds of passengers are still missing, presumed dead.
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Corpses continued to wash ashore, after the rescue effort was abandoned in favour of a search and salvage operation, to recover more bodies around the ferry.
The authorities are now deciding whether to sink The Joola in the Atlantic Ocean with its dead still aboard. Reuters quoted the Interior Minister, Mamadou Niang, on Tuesday saying there were also proposals to raise the ship or possibly turn it into a memorial to those who died.
It was reported that mass burials of Muslims and Christians had also been organised in Senegal, though other reports said the government had vowed that each body would be given its own individual resting place. Neighbouring Gambia is reported to have authorised funerals on its territory.
Senegal declared three days of national mourning. Most of The Joola's passengers were Senegalese, with other nationals from Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, France, Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands.
