This archive report was first published on 9 October 2019.
Published on October 9, 2019, the Kenya Navy's search for the bodies of Mariam Kighenda and her four-year-old daughter Amanda Mutheu, who drowned in the Indian Ocean on September 29, has been delayed due to the non-arrival of necessary equipment.
According to government officials, the equipment required for the retrieval operation is still en route from South Africa and is expected to arrive soon.
Head of the rescue team, Col Lawrence Gituma, confirmed that the equipment is not available locally and will be imported from South Africa.
Meanwhile, private divers hired by the victims' family continued with their mission at the Likoni Channel, where the tragedy occurred.
The family of Mariam Kighenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu contracted five divers from SubSeas Services, a commercial diving company operating in South Africa, to assist in the search.
Col Gituma also announced that the government had procured additional equipment, including advanced remote-operated cameras with high resolution, to aid in the retrieval mission.
"The ones we have are good, but we are getting more that are advanced, which will give us a better resolution," Col Gituma said in a press release on Sunday.
