Historic Towns in Lamu

Old Witu Town: Gateway to the Hinterland

Most territorial disputes in the carving up of Kenya never made it past the echoes of pacts, but a circlet of towns and regions made headlines and spilled into inter-territorial squabbles, plunging some of these little-known places to the subjects of regional arbitrations that was not seen since or after Word War 1. The inherited political geography of Kenya derives from the Berlin Conference of 1884-85 which laid out the rules for the European partition of Africa. Among the subject towns in the partition debate was Witu, sited 52 km west of Garsen enroute Lamu via C112.

Presently an outmoded boondock of aging rows of dukas, Old Town Witu was a vivid example in Kenya of a widespread resistance to Arab and British domination on the northern coast in the 19th century. A thorn in the fresh of the British, Witu town quickly gained infamy in the British East African Association, and its officials, perceived as a band of outlaws with an aim of disrupting peace in the region. The treaty established with the Germans circa 1885 – giving control over a territory of about 3,000 km2 centered on the town of Witu – only reinforced British opinion.

The genesis and exodus of Old Town Witu’s calamities was rooted in the rivalries between Pate and Lamu and the factions within the Swahili city-states on nearby islands of the Lamu Archipelago. Anterior to the 1880s, before the presence of the British in Kenya, Witu was a Swahili town ruled by sultans engaged in the slave trade within the international mercantile landscape. The first British visit to Witu was in 1885, when Jack Haggard, the Lamu Vice-Consul, concluded, after a brief visit, that it should be destroyed as it was clearly having a detrimental effect on British agenda with the Zanzibar Arabs, and the cause to fight against slave trade.

The Germans, on the other hand, eager to inch out more territory in East Africa, attempted to promote Witu and made a treaty with Sultan Ahmed in exchange for a grant of land for German settlers, while Ahmed was offered German protection. Witu was seen as the way into East Africa, gaining access to Uganda and beyond. And thus the Germans set up the Witu Company to trade in their new concession; a canal was dug at the mouth of River Tana; and a Post Office was set up in Lamu and postage stamps issued in the name of the Swahililand Sultan. In 1886, by an agreement between England and Germany, the Sultan’s dominions were defined.

It is to be observed that this agreement did not extend beyond the River Tana to the north, and complications soon began in Witu, behind Lamu. Certain refugees from Pate, under an outlaw called Fumo Bakari, had established themselves in this place. They were really little more than a hardnosed band of robbers, but it suited the Germans to recognize them as an independent authority, and to declare anon protectorate over Witu. Alarmed by the audacious Germans, Seyyid Barghash, in 1887, granted to the British East Africa Association a concession of his mainland possessions between the Umba and Kipini, and in the next year the association was reconstituted as Imperial British East Africa Company, under a royal charter.

From the initials of this title British East Africa has sometimes been known by the acronym of Ibea. The chairman was Sir. William Mackinnon, a rightly honoured name, to whom a statue was erected in Mombasa Town. In the same year (1888) Seyyid Khalifa, the successor of Sultan Barghash, granted the Germans a similar concession of his territories south of Umba River. And on this, a complex situation was created to the north of the Tana. The Germans had a protectorate over Witu or Wituland, and demanded the cession of Lamu. The Sultan, on the contrary, and unsurprisingly so, offered to lease all his territories between Kipini and Kismayu to British East Africa Company, in the same way as he had leased those below Kipini.

Alarmed by the new prospect, the Germans protested, and claimed the country between Witu and the Juba. These difficulties were finally decided by the Anglo-German Treaty of 1890, which dealt with several parts of the world, and Britain ceded Heligoland to Germany. In East Africa, Germany yielded all claims to Witu and other territory north of the line drawn from the Umba to Lake Victoria, so as to leave Mt. Kilimanjaro in her territory, and recognised a British protectorate over Zanzibar, Pemba, and the Sultan’s mainland areas between the Umba and Juba.

Wituland passed under British protection by the same treaty of 1890. Almost immediately, the British commenced on bombarding Old Town Witu to avenge a massacre of Germans, so that altogether Witu had perhaps given more trouble in the world than it was worth. In October of the same year British forces landed at Kipini near the mouth of the River Tana, proceeded, in travail, 16 miles inland to Witu where they made every effort to utterly wreck the town and its defenses.

A hell fire was imminent! A show of Royal Empire’s force. All the stone building including the palace of the Sultan were blown up, their inhabitants fleeing to the forest. Although it took three more years for the British to complete their roundup of the Witu Sultan and his allies, the destruction of the old town of Witu marked the downfall of a political misnomer that had conformed neither to the wishes of the Sultan of Zanzibar nor to those of the successor, the British protectorate.

Historic towns around the world offer a glimpse into the past, preserving architecture, culture, and stories from different eras. In Kenya, some of the oldest towns are found along the coast, where medieval trade put on the map long before developments in the hinterland. Among these is Lamu town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its Swahili architecture and cultural traditions.

Index of Relic & Historic Towns Around Kenya

Baringo County - Tambach , Homa Bay County - Old Kendu Bay Town , Isiolo County - Isiolo Town , Garba Tula , Kilifi County - Old Town Takaungu , Mambrui , Kwale County - Old Town Vanga , Vumba Kuu, Kwale , Lamu County - Lamu Old Town, Witu , Shela, Faza , Manda, Mandera County - El Wak, Migori County - Awendo-Sori , Mombasa County - Old Town Mombasa , Nyandarua County - Njabini town , Samburu County - Archer's Post , Tana River County - Old Town Kipini , Wajir County - Old Town Wajir

Lamu County is one of Kenya’s most unique and enchanting regions, known for its rich Swahili culture, pristine beaches, and UNESCO-listed heritage. Located on the northern coast of Kenya, it consists of a group of islands (Lamu, Manda, Pate, and Kiwayu) and a stretch of mainland coastline. Lamu Island in particular is more than just a destination—it’s a living piece of Swahili history and coastal paradise.

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A Guide to Lamu County

A Summa Digest of Lamu

About Lamu Way Back When

70 Destinations in Lamu County , arranged as one would visit these - west, south, north then west - with aid of narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:

Delta Dunes Lodge , Lake Moa , Old Town Witu , Witu Forest Reserve , Pangani Swamp, Lake Kiboko , Amu Ranch , Lake Amu, Kipini Conservancy , Lake Kenyatta , Amu Baharini Beach, Kizuke Beach , Lamu (Manda) Port , Red Pepper House , Lamu Island , Matondoni Dau Workshop , Matondoni Ruins , Tusitiri Dhow , Kipungani Ruins , Kizingoni Beach , Old Town Lamu, Lamu World Heritage Sector , Lamu Museum , The Swahili House Museum , German Post Office Museum , Lamu Fort , Lamu Market , Masjid Khoja Ithnasheri , Masjid Riyadha , House of Habib Swaleh , The Mosque College Lamu , Lamu Catholic Church , Tamarind Tree Cafe , Donkey Sanctuary , The Floating Bar , Boat Rides , MaraRaha , Kijani Hotel , Shela Village , Friday Masjid , Forodhani House , Peponi Hotel , Shela Beach , Bahari Restaurant , Fort at Shela , Ras Kitau , Diamond Village , The Maljis , Takwa Ruins , Manda Island , Manda Lodge , Manda Toto , Manda Coral Quarry , Nabahani Ruins , Pate Island , Shanga Ruins , Siyu Fort , Shindamweh, Atu Ruins , Chundwa Ruins , Faza Village , Lamu Monuments , Mangrove Forests , Dodori National Reserve , Kiunga Marine N. Reserve , Kiwayu Island , Ashuwei , Boni Forest National Reserve , Ishakani Ruins , Lamu Festivals

Know More About Lamu County: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including distance chart, Airports, Climate & National Monuments

What’s The Air Like In Lamu?

Lamu County lies along the Equatorial Climate System, enjoying two rainy seasons and temperatures between 24°C and 30°C year round – Hottest in December & April

What’s The Lay Of The Land In C.05?

Lamu is composed of a coastal zone of 65 islands, vast creeks, bays, sand bars and mangrove. Among these, Lamu Island, hosting Lamu Town, is the bussiest. The mainland is flat to undulating.

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