Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday said he had ordered the arrest of "all those involved in the management of the ferry" which sank on Lake Victoria, claiming 131 lives.
"It appears clear that the ferry was overloaded," he said in a speech on TBC One public television, also referring to "negligence". "The arrests have already begun."
At least 136 bodies have been retrieved after a ferry sank on Lake Victoria, Tanzania’s top police official Simon Sirro said on Friday, and scores more were still feared missing as rescuers searched for survivors on the morning after the disaster.
The ferry MV Nyerere capsized on Thursday afternoon just a few metres from the dock on Ukerewe, the lake’s biggest island, which is part of Tanzania.