Likoni Tragedy: Mother's Last Minute Efforts to Save Daughter

Details have emerged of how Mariam Kighenda and daughter Amanda Mutheu were found inside the wrecked car after drowning in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, September 29.

According to The Standard, images showed that the victims died a harrowing death, locked in a tight embrace.

The two were found embraced in the back seat of their five-seater Toyota ISIS car.

According to the detectives on the ground, it seemed the two were flung backwards by the violent motion as the car drowned. Reports also disclosed that they had tried to exit through the back window.

The Standard further obtained CCTV footage which clearly showed how the car slid from the prow of MV Harambee into the ocean at 6:13 pm on September 29.

The footage showed the hind lights of the vehicle flickering as young Amanda played on her mother's lap on the driver's seat. Nation reported that the gear of the car was in parking mode and the ignition key off.

The driver's window and the back passenger windows were cracked open, while the rest were tightly shut. The wipers were found on. 

As the vehicle was being retrieved, John Wambua, the widower was restrained as he rushed to confirm if his wife's and daughter's bodies were in the car.

'I'm still struggling to accept all this, but I am happy to see the bodies out," Wambua told detectives.

The corpses were found to be in a fairly decomposing but identifiable state and were taken to Jocham Hospital Mortuary in Mombasa.

Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna stated the bodies of the deceased would be handed over to the police by the military so that due process could be followed. 

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