The Kenya Defense Forces Navy team has taken credit for spotting the vehicle that plunged into Indian Ocean two weeks ago, killing a mother and daughter.
For days now, Kenyans have blamed KDF for delayed retrieval of the bodies, with some threatening to boycott Mashujaa Day fete on 20th in Mombasa.
But government spokesman Col (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna on Wednesday evening hailed the Navy divers, adding that it's the team which spotted the wreckages.
According to him, assistance from other team members was important but it's Navy which supervised the mission. The vehicle was spotted on Wednesday.
"We have been having a government multi-agency which involves Kenya Navy, Kenya Ferry Services among others. The entire team is led by Kenya Navy under Col Lawrence Gituma.
"Those who were leading and had divers were Kenya Navy. Some helped us with cameras but it's Kenya Navy that spotted the vehicle. We are not saying that others didn't contribute but without divers, we wouldn't have made the progress," he said.
The search for Mariam Kighenda and her daughter Amanda Mutheu has taken 10 days since the unprecedented tragedy, with Kenya Navy working under pressure to retrieve their bodies.
The vehicle, a Toyota ISIS registration number KCB 289C, was seen some 58 metres deep in the Likoni channel.
Goverment spokesperson, Col (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna said the operation to retrieve the body will start at 9am Thursday.
"At around 3am, we had announced that we have seen an object that resembles a car. For several hours, we have been scanning the area and we have finally established that it is a vehicle. We have found the number is KCB 289C," said Oguna.
"We have confirmed through the underwater cameras that this is the same vehicle. However, we've not been able to ascertain if the bodies are still in the vehicle or not," said Oguna.
He said they are however optimistic that the bodies will be found in the vehicle.
"We have high hopes that the bodies will be found inside that vehicle. The operation to retrieve the vehicle will start at 9am on Thursday. Now, we cannot get into the ocean becuase it is already dark," said Oguna.