Lamu County is a county in Kenya located along the North Coast of the country and is one of the six Coastal Counties in Kenya. Its capital is the town of Lamu. It borders Tana River County to the southwest, Garissa County to the north, Somalia to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the South. It is the smallest county in Kenya by population.

The county has a land surface of , including the mainland and over 65 islands that form the Lamu Archipelago. The total length of the coastline is , while the land water mass area stands at .

Demographics

The county is made of a cosmopolitan population composed of communities such as Aweer, Oromo, Somalis, Swahilis, Arabs, Kore, Kikuyu, and other migrant communities from all over the country. The county had a total population of 143,920 of which 76,103 were males 67,813 females and 4 intersex persons during the 2019 census of Kenya. There were 37,963 households with an average household size of 3.7 persons per household and a population density of 23 people per square kilometre.

The LAPSSET project was in 2016 expected to attract a huge migrant population, estimated at over one million people. This will certainly overstretch the county's social services necessitating commensurate development planning for adequate service provision.

Religion

Administrative and political units

Administrative units The county has 2 constituencies: Lamu West and Lamu East. These two also consist of the two districts referred to as the sub-counties in Lamu County. Lamu West has Amu Mkomani, Shela, Hindi, Mkunumbi, Hongwe, Bahari and Witu Divisions while Lamu East has Faza, Basuba and Kiunga Divisions. There are 10 wards, 23 locations, and 38 sub-locations in the county.

Administrative divisionsDivisionPopulation*Urban pop.*Headquarters Amu 17,310 12,839 Lamu Faza 7,474 0 Faza Hindi 7,072 1,335 Kiunga 3,310 0 Kiunga Kizingitini 6,010 0 Kizingitini Mpeketoni 25,530 773 Mpeketoni Witu 5,980 1,322 Witu Total 72,686 16,269 -

Political units There are two constituencies and ten county assembly wards.

ConstituencyCounty wardsLand Area (km2)LAMU WEST Shella 54.7 Mkomani 172.5 Hindi 1150.8 Mkunumbi 1366.1 Hongwe 128.5 Bahari 123.3 Witu 975.4LAMU EAST Faza 79.2 Basuba 1708.7 Kiunga 513.9 TOTAL 6273.1Source: Lamu County CIDP 2013-2017

Constituencies MP – Muthama, Stanley Muiruri Lamu West Constituency MP – Ruweida Mohammed Obo Lamu East Constituency

Source

Political leadership The first elected governor for the country was Issa Timamy, deputized by Eric Kinyua Mugo. The second elected governor was Fahim Yasin Twaha, deputized by Aboud Bwana Abdulhakim. The first elected senator for the county was Abu Chiaba while the second elected senator was Anuar Loitiptip. The current senator is Joseph Githuka. The first county woman representative was Abdalla Shakilla Mohamed, who was elected in 2013. She was followed by Ruweida Mohamed Obo in 2017. The current county woman representative is Monica Mūthoni Marubu.

For Lamu County, the County Executive Committee comprises:

+ County Executive CommitteeNumber The Governor 1 The Deputy Governor 1 The County Secretary 1 The CEC Members 10 Total 13

Education

Lamu has 203 ECD centers, 139 primary schools and 25 secondary schools. There are also 58 adult training institutions, 6 vocational training centers as well as 3 universities.

Health There are a total of 45 health facilities in the county, as well as one county referral hospital.

The county has 316 health personnel of different cadre.

HIV prevalence is at 3.5%, compared to the national 5.9%.

Transport and communication The county is covered by 923.07 km of road network. Of this, 718.66 km is covered by earth surface, 198.41 km is murram surface and 6 km is covered by bitumen.

The main point of entry to Lamu is through air via Manda Airport (LAU) which gives you access to the islands via boats/dhows. It's also possible to use buses. In Lamu, most locals prefer to walk barefoot (grounding) and they rely heavily on donkeys as a means of transportation (for both people and goods).

There are five Post Offices with 1,250 installed letter boxes, 653 rented letter boxes and 597 vacant letter boxes.

Trade and commerce The main economic activities in the county include crop production, livestock production, fisheries, tourism and mining, most notably quarrying. Lamu is rich in minerals like titanium, salt, limestone, coral stones, and sand. Lamu town is termed "the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa” but neighboring islands also have numerous archaeological remnants of history dating as far back as the 14th Century.

Among the challenges facing Lamu are population growth owing to migration into Lamu from other parts of the country, fueled partly by the anticipated opportunities accruing from the Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor. Other challenges include landlessness and poor land management, insufficient social services such as healthcare and education, inadequate supply of piped and fresh water, under-developed infrastructure, and food insecurity.

There are 9 trading centers, 606 registered businesses, 465 licensed retail traders, 7 supermarkets, 27 licensed wholesale traders, and 98 registered hotels.

The county has two National reserves: Dodori, and Kiunga Marine, covering 877 km2. Dodori is a breeding ground for the East Lamu Topi, and consists of a variety of mammals and birdlife including lions, elephant shrew, hippo, pelicans, and many more. It has the most varied species of mangrove forest in Kenya at Dodori Creek. Kiunga Marine Reserve consists of several islands rich with biodiversity including valuable coral reefs, sea grass, extensive mangrove forests, and the endangered sea turtles and dugongs. Kiwayu Island, which is part of the reserve, is deemed as having the most pristine beach in Kenya.

Villages and settlements

See also Tana River County Garissa County Mombasa County Kilifi County

References

External links Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Kenya AdminLevels 1-4 Article title eLimu: Lamu County