This archive report was first published on 7 October 2019.
Published on October 7, 2019, the government of Kenya has turned to South Africa for assistance in retrieving the bodies of Mariam Kigenda, a 35-year-old woman, and her four-year-old daughter Amanda Mutheu, who tragically sank in the Indian Ocean last Sunday.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia announced that South African divers will join the search efforts, collaborating with experts from Sweden and the Kenyan navy.
‘We’re here to tell Kenyans that all that needs to be done has been done and is being done right now. We’re collaborating with all partners; you saw an expert from Sweden, we have other experts from South Africa coming in the next few days and the Kenyan navy as well,’ Macharia told reporters at the Likoni Channel.
Additionally, the government has secured funding from Japan for the construction of a cable-stayed bridge over the channel to prevent such accidents in the future.
The bridge project was made possible after the Kenyan government signed an agreement with Japan following talks between President Kenyatta and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-VII).
The search operation has been hindered by heavy undercurrents, bad weather, and poor underwater visibility, making it challenging to locate the bodies of Ms. Kigenda and her daughter.
