Kenyans did not hide their disappointment when they took to social media following reports that the vehicle that tumbled into the Likoni Channel killing Mariam Kagenda and her 4-year-old daughter Amanda Mutheu had been located.
Reports on live television had indicated that those involved in the operation had been able to spot the bodies inside what they believed to be a car, throwing people into a frenzy.
Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna, however, in a press briefing soon after these developments, did not confirm if what had allegedly been spotted by the divers was indeed the car that plunged into the ocean.
Most netizens, however, were ticked off when Oguna, in his statement, credited the Kenya Navy divers for the new discovery.
Many explicitly stated that they were certain that it was not the Kenya Navy divers but foreign divers who had located the vehicle, but the Navy officials decided to take credit for the discovery.
"I had a feeling the Swedish driver had located the car but didn't want to embarrass the Kenya Navy," one user commented.
The Swedish diver had claimed that he could retrieve bodies of the two Likoni Ferry victims in a record time of two hours.
The suspicion was further fuelled by the information that Indian naval forces had arrived at the Mombasa port aboard two naval vessels on Sunday, October 6, and agreed to help the Kenya Navy in the mission on a volunteer basis.
While addressing the press on the date of the arrival, the Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) Chairman Dan Mwazo disclosed that the Indian Navy had agreed to help on condition that the area where the tragedy occurred was declared a military zone.
Borrowing from the statement, one social media user urged the government spokesman to swallow his pride and admit that the progress thus far had been due to the massive help the government had received from foreign divers.
"Let's give credit where it's due. What's difficult in congratulating foreign divers. We all know the Kenya Navy couldn't locate the vehicle deep in the sea," he commented.
