The search and rescue team boat carrying the body of Boaz Mwenda (inset) arrives at the King Fahd Hospital Jetty on October 22, 2025.
Boaz Mwenda, only 18, made the 450-kilometre journey from Lare in Meru County to Lamu. Tragically, he did not know he was travelling to his death.
He was visiting his elder brother and cousins and it was his first time in Lamu. He was to return to Meru next week.
On Sunday morning, Mwenda, in the company of three friends, left his brother’s rented house in Langoni, Lamu Town, for church.
Boaz Mwenda,18, whose body was recovered in the Indian Ocean near Tawa Ruins beaches in Lamu.
On the way, they changed their plan and instead went swimming at Shella Beach on Lamu Island.
Their swimming outing ended tragically when Mwenda drowned.
His three friends did not disclose what had transpired that fateful day until his brother and neighbours began to raise suspicion, as Mwenda was nowhere to be found.
A missing person’s report was filed at the Lamu Central Police Station on Tuesday, and Mwenda’s three friends were also detained to assist with investigations.
When investigators finally questioned the three friends on Tuesday, they revealed that three days earlier, Mwenda had joined them for a swim at Shella Beach but was swept away after being overpowered by strong winds and tidal waves.
The search and rescue team boat carrying the body of Boaz Mwenda arrives at the King Fahd Hospital Jetty on October 22, 2025.
The friends said they were afraid and did not know how to break the tragic news.
A search and rescue (SAR) operation was launched in the Indian Ocean around Shella, Manda, Takwa, Ras Kitau, and nearby areas.
The multi-agency search was led by officers from the Kenya Coast Guard Service, the Lamu Disaster Rescue Team, the Kenya Red Cross Society, the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), and local divers.
On Wednesday evening, Mwenda’s decomposing body was retrieved from the Indian Ocean near the shores of Takwa Ruins.
Speaking shortly after the operation was concluded, Mr Mohamed Musa, the Lamu County Search and Rescue Team leader, confirmed the recovery of the body.
He said they received a call from fishermen who had spotted a body near Takwa Ruins.
“We had searched for almost two days without success. We were then contacted and informed that a body had been spotted floating near the Takwa Ruins. We went immediately and retrieved it. Mwenda’s family members were with us, and they positively identified the body,” said Mr Musa.
Lamu County Search and Rescue team leader Mohamed Musa on October 22, 2025.
The body was ferried to Mpeketoni Hospital morgue in Lamu West before being transferred to the Malindi Sub-County Hospital mortuary in Kilifi, where a post-mortem is expected to be conducted on Thursday.
Mr Musa warned visitors coming to Lamu against swimming indiscriminately in areas such as Kona ya Shella, Ras Kitau, Kitangani, and Wiyoni, which are known for frequent drowning incidents.
“My advice is for people to avoid swimming in deeper areas that have strong waves and tides, like Shella. We will intensify our patrols in these areas, but people also need to take precautions,” said Mr Musa.
Charles Kaberia, a cousin to the late Mwenda, expressed sorrow over his unexpected death, describing him as a disciplined young man.
“It’s tragic. I used to share a room with Mwenda since he arrived in Lamu. He was always friendly and disciplined. His death is unexpected. It’s unfortunate that he will be returning home to Meru in a coffin,” he said.
Mr Kaberia urged the Lamu security team to deploy law enforcement officers along the beaches daily to monitor activities and limit the number of people swimming.
“The freedom on Lamu beaches is too much. Almost everyone coming here just wants to swim, even if they aren’t skilled swimmers. We’ve lost many lives through drowning. It’s high time those going swimming are assessed, and access to the ocean is limited,” he said.
Silas Kimathi has called for the number of swimmers on Lamu seashores and beaches to be assessed and limited to avoid tragedies.
Silas Kimathi advised those going for a swim to always look out for one another.
Mr Kimathi said that had Mwenda’s friends reported the incident in time, his life might have been saved.
“You can imagine—they went swimming on Sunday, and when Mwenda was overpowered by the tides and disappeared, they stayed silent for days before revealing what happened,” he said.
Lamu County Meru Community spokesperson Jacob Muroki urged the government to deploy standby search and rescue teams with fast boats to respond to sea emergencies promptly.
He said this would prevent deaths in the ocean, adding that a high number of deaths has been recently witnessed in the Indian Ocean in Lamu.
Earlier this month, a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier died while on a fishing expedition in Mkokoni, Lamu East.
The body of 35-year-old Mohamed Bakari Athman was found floating in the ocean off the Mbelezoni-Kacha Channel within Mkokoni on October 6, 2025.
A month ago, two fishermen—a father and son—died after their vessel capsized in the Pezali area near Pate, Lamu East.
In April this year, three church members drowned while swimming in the Indian Ocean at Lamu’s Shella Beach. They were part of a church group from Hongwe in Mpeketoni that had visited the archipelago for a youth retreat.
