During the tail end of his three-day visit to Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV prayed silently at Beirut port on December 2, where a massive explosion killed 218 people, injured 7,000, and left 300,000 homeless.
The Pope, who called for justice for the victims six years down the line, was presented with a scarf imprinted with images of the victims, as the survivors did during Pope Francis’ visit. Wikipedia records that the August 4, 2020 Beirut explosion generated a seismic vibration measuring 3.3 in magnitude, as reported by the United States Geological Survey. It was felt in Syria, Israel, and even Cyprus over 240km away.
“No one has yet been held accountable for the disaster, which happened when a fire triggered the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored unsafely at a port warehouse for almost six years,” the BBC reported under the headline, ‘Pope prays at Beirut port blast site on last day of Lebanon visit,’ published December 2.
It is widely believed that officials and politicians were aware of the combustible chemical’s existence and the danger it posed, but that they failed to secure, remove or destroy it. Nada Abdelsater, a board member of the Beirut Foundation, which strives to improve the life of the Lebanese people, held in her hand the photo of curly-haired Isaac, a two-year-old boy, the youngest victim, the Vatican News reported.
She represented Isaac’s parents, Australians, who could not attend but asked Abdelsater to represent their voice before the Pope. “He was a baby and in his chair at home when he was killed in the blast. Isaac was Australian; his parents are Australian, and they happened to be in Lebanon at the time. They specifically asked me to be here today so that Isaac’s soul and his family can be blessed by Pope Leo,” Vatican News quoted Abdelsater as saying.
Such a disaster may sound far from home, but it is a wake-up call for our governments in the region to remain vigilant to guarantee safety of the port workers, the citizens, and foreigners. The ports of Lamu and Mombasa, for example, are known to be strategic targets for criminal groups seeking transit of illegal and uncertified cargo to various destinations.
Several times, police and port authorities have intercepted drug hauls, counterfeits, and even dangerous industrial chemicals. In October 2025, the Kenya Navy, working with Interpol and other international partners, intercepted a vessel off Mombasa coast, carrying over one tonne of 98 per cent pure crystal methamphetamine (meth) valued at more than Sh8 billion.
The court ruled that the six Iranians arrested in connection with the cargo remain in custody as investigations continued, the Daily Nation reported on December, 6 in the story, “Iranians in Sh8.2bn meth case held another month as global probe widens”.
Journalists should find out the procedures of holding exhibits to act as evidence in court, especially when such exhibits could be deemed as life and environmentally endangering. Are there other court recommended methods of storing exhibit-evidence for exhibits considered hazardous?
On December 21, 2021, the Business Daily wrote that the Kenya Port Authority security team had intercepted a container with uranium, considered to be highly radioactive and used in nuclear power generation. The container was reportedly en route to Tanzania, the newspaper quoted a security official as saying, in the story, ‘Container with uranium nabbed at Mombasa port’.
Journalists should, as part of their routine job, keep their ears on the ground on the happenings at all our ports, handling lucrative business all year round. The citizens count on media to report on such endangering exposures for action to be taken.
