A fiery stand-off between Kenya Navy officers and eight divers from South Africa reportedly delayed the retrieval of the bodies of Mariam Kighenda and that of her daughter Amanda Mutheu from the Indian Ocean.
A report seen by Kenyanbulletin.com indicated that the two teams did not see eye to eye and at one point, the divers abandoned the operation and headed to Moi International Airport to board their flight back home.
Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho had to intervene to convince them to rejoin the exercise which ended on Friday, October, 11.
A source who spoke to Kenyanbulletin.com on condition of anonymity disclosed that there was no proper planning for the exercise, adding that the multi-agency team didn’t share much when they gathered.
“What we were going for was just like a breakfast meeting where we shared information on locations that we had found using our machines,” he stated.
The source went on to add that Kenya Navy wanted to be seen as the ones who were doing everything to save the victims.
“The Kenya Navy was commanding everything, leaving out others, and that’s why some divers pulled out because they were frustrated,” he remarked.
Other people who were privy to the rescue operations claimed that the Kenya Navy divers lacked seriousness explaining that they would go into the water for a few minutes and come up as others circled in boats.
