It took intervention of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho to calm down South Africa divers after storming out of Likoni tragedy recovery mission, it has now emerged.
For 13 days, Kenyans anxiously waited for the recovery of the bodies of Mariam Kighenda and Amanda Mutheu, whose car had plunged into the cold waters of Indian Ocean.
But before Friday's success, politics surrounded the exercise, with Kenya Defense Forces Navy team forcefully taking credit, a move that made the retrieval process halt for a moment.
On Wednesday, government spokesperson Col (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna told the country that the vehicle was located by Navy divers, a statement which ended up causing rifts.
"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.
Subsequently, the team of private divers attached to Subseas Limited in South Africa stormed out of the process, accusing the Navy divers of harassment and insincerity.
A source close to Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho says the vehicle would have been retrieved on Thursday had the South African divers took part in the process.
With Navy team struggling to retrieve the vehicle and the exercise on the verge of collapsing, Joho made a phone call to Subseas divers who were already at Moi International Airport.
"The governor was concerned about the rifts. He immediately called the South African team and persuaded them to return. He assured them that their concerns will be addressed," said the source.
The family had hired the South Africa team through the aid of Joho who donated Sh2 million for the exercise. They are said to be the ones who assisted KPA divers to locate the wreckages of the vehicle.
Prior to Friday's mission, Joho reconciled the two groups, with the seasoned politician cautioning against taking of credits at the expense of other team members.
His efforts effectively neutralised planned demonstrations which were due on Friday, with Likoni residents accusing Navy of incompetence.
When the vehicle was retrieved later in the evening, Oguna and the Navy team were careful with utterances, only focusing on condoling with the family of the deceased people.
"The governor reconciled them and they agreed to take credits in equal measure. That's why Oguna and the Navy team were cautious after the retrieval of the bodies," he said, adding that South Africa divers played a key role.
Navy Commander Major General Levy Mghalu also steered off the differences that had emerged, only poking holes at the goverment agencies responsible for the running of the ferries.
"We must learn lessons. Those responsible must know that their passengers should always be safe. Inspection ought to be done all the time," he warned.
Kighenda's husband John Wambua on Sunday took a swipe at Kenya Ferry Services, insisting that negligence was on their part. CID team has some taken over the matter.
"She had engaged the parking gear and there was hand break which was active. She was an experienced driver and couldn't do a mistake," he said.
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