A fisherman who claimed Kenya Navy soldiers abandoned them at Indian Ocean despite their plea for help has now changed tune saying he is not sure the officers saw them.
The four fishermen were left stranded in the deep sea for 17 days after they ran out of fuel for their boat and were unable to return to the island.
Speaking to NTV, fisherman Juma Charo claimed they spotted a Kenya Navy patrol boat but the soldiers left them for the dead.
“We requested them to give us some food or water but they declined,” said Charo.
After hours of online lynching, Kenya Navy spokesperson Paul Njuguna came out saying the fisherman's claims were untrue and that it was impossible for soldiers to abandon anyone with an emergency at sea.
In a new twist of events, Charo shifted his statement saying they saw the Navy boat at a distance and were not sure whether the officers heard their voices or saw them.
"We saw the Kenya Navy boat at a distance and we started calling them out to help us, we called out loudly asking for food and water but we were not sure they heard us, they were far from us," he said.
According to the sailors, their boat developed mechanical problems after being hit by raging waves on Sunday, December 8. Help came their way on Wednesday, December 25.
During their stay in the unforgiving ocean, they survived on salty water and raw fish they had captured on the ill-fated Sunday.
The four were rushed to the Malindi sub-county hospital for medical attention and were later discharged and reunited with their families.
