A mosque within the over 300-year-old Takwa Ruins in Lamu.
For decades, Lamu County relied on its historical ruins, monuments, sites and sandy beaches to attract a large number of tourists.
But with time, residents and stakeholders have noticed a drastic drop in the number of tourists visiting the archipelago, and they attribute this to the sorry state of the sites which they do not find appealing anymore.
Statistics from the Lamu Tourism Department show that in recent years, only about 10 percent of tourists are visiting historical sites such as Takwa in Manda Island, the Pate Ruins, Siyu Fort and the Shanga Ruins, also on Pate Island.
Takwa Ruins in Lamu.
This number is way below that of previous years, as for instance, between 2010 and 2014, at least 50 percent of tourists visited the Lamu archipelago.
Lamu County Executive Committee Member for Tourism Aisha Miraj said that 46,968 tourists visited Lamu in 2023.
Tour guides interviewed by Nation. Africa said that the neglect of the ruins, sites and monuments — to the point where some are being lost over time — is to blame for the decline of tourist numbers.
One of the world’s famous historical sites, Pate Ruins, is a pale shadow of itself, and lack of care over the years has taken a toll on most of the relics.
Pate Ruins date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. They are located on Pate Island — one of the largest islands in the Lamu archipelago. They consist of a series of stone structures, including mosques, tombs and houses.
These historical sites and monuments, which are under the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), need urgent restoration works to conserve and preserve them.
A tour guide on Pate Island, Twaha Ahmed, said that it is unfortunate that the few tourists who visit the ruins end up disappointed because of the sorry state they are in.
“As you can see, the Pate Ruins are fast disappearing, as the remaining ancient walls are collapsing. Those in charge have not done any rehabilitation work at the site for years. In recent years, tourists have shied away from visiting this place. Numbers are very low,” said Mr Ahmed.
This is a far cry away from yesteryears when Pate Ruins were among the leading tourist destinations in the Coast region.
Twaha Ahmed Omar, an 80-year-old tour guide from Pate Island in Lamu East sub-County.
Lamu residents are worried that if nothing is done urgently, the once-thriving tourist destination will fade into oblivion.
An elder on Pate Island, Swaleh Haji, said that the abandonment of the ruins has resulted in encroachment — a factor, he said, would lead to total collapse if not curbed.
“People have encroached on the Pate Ruins and planted banana plantations. Something needs to be done urgently, or else, Pate Ruins will become a thing of the past,” he said.
Tourism CEC Miraj said plans are underway to digitise all the ruins, historical sites and monuments in Lamu.
Ruins of the old Pate Kingdom. elites built stone-walled homes near the Sultan's palace.
She said this will be implemented after a discussion between the devolved government and the national government through the NMK.
“Remember the sites, ruins, and monuments are still under the national government. So, we don’t have a voice. But we’re in discussion to see how we can reach a consensus with the NMK on how we will handle the sites, monuments and the museum at large,” said Ms Miraj.
Siyu Fort in Lamu.
The NMK has, on various occasions, said that at least Sh200 million is needed for the restoration and maintenance of key historical sites and monuments in Lamu, which has the highest number of historical sites, ruins, monuments and buildings among all the 47 counties.
Read: Lamu's dilemma
Ms Miraj said that the low tourism numbers to the archipelago are also a result of foreign travel advisories that have been in place for many years.
She said that Germany and France’s advisories to their citizens have hindered tourists from travelling beyond Lamu Old Town and Manda Islands.
However, she expressed confidence that once the travel advisories are lifted, tourism performance will be boosted.
“We can’t say that the sorry state of ruins is behind the (entire) 10 percent tourism performance in Lamu East. Remember, tourists like the original state of those ruins, sites and monuments as they give the real picture of what transpired,” said Ms Miraj.
