For a majority of residents in Kenya, making a phone call takes just a simple touch of a button at any time.
This has not been the case for locals in Siyu, Shanga, and Mkokoni in Lamu East Sub-County for decades.
They have endured years of difficulties whenever they want to make phone calls. In fact, contacting someone through your mobile phone in these remote islands of the Lamu Archipelago was a matter of life and death.
Here, the few individuals who have mobile phones have for years been forced to risk their lives climbing trees, especially the tall coconut trees, to make phone calls.
This is because Siyu, Shanga, and Mkokoni islands are among the places that were known to have the poorest mobile network coverage on the Kenyan Coast.
The situation was attributed to the fact that communication masts in the three islands were unheard of. The lack of mobile network coverage had impacted negatively on the community.
Pregnant mothers and their children have even ended up dying while giving birth at the hands of traditional birth attendants when that one phone call could not get through to the nearest boat ambulance service provider to take them to the King Fahd County Referral Hospital in Lamu Island, which is miles away.
Today, things have changed since islanders in Mkokoni, Siyu, and Shanga are smiling all through, all thanks to the recent move by telcos to install two communication masts in Lamu East.
Villagers can now follow up on current issues online through the use of their mobile phones, engaging on matters of public interest via WhatsApp, Facebook, X (formally Twitter), Instagram, and other social media platforms unlike in previous years when they could not get such an opportunity due to the lack of mobile network.
Najim Athman, a resident of Siyu, says using mobile phones in the village is no longer a trial-and-error affair.
“Nowadays Siyu people are a happy lot. It’s easy for us to make phone calls. We thank the government through the involved telecommunication companies for erecting a communication mast in our village. We’re now connected to the rest of Kenya in terms of communication,” said Mr Athman.
Maryam Bakari, also from Siyu, says years back, one could search for a mobile network hotspot in the village for hours before successfully accessing it.
One could either climb a few select coconut trees in the village or just stumble to a hotspot by luck.
“That’s where you could now rush to contact someone before the network cuts off. It was strenuous. Today, we can make phone calls anywhere, anytime, even if you’re under your bed inside your house,” said Ms Bakari.
The two villages are served by the single communication mast erected in Siyu. In Mkokoni Village, residents are also enjoying a full mobile network after a mast was erected last month.
Omar Mustafa, a resident, says in the past it was hard for them to make mobile money transactions since the network was a challenge.
When someone sent them money, they would get shocked at how they could make the withdrawals.
One had to take a boat from Mkokoni all the way to Lamu island, pay over Sh2,000 boat fare, two-way, just to go and make the withdrawals.
“We thank God that the erection of the communication mast has made things easy. We even have M-Pesa agents in our village,” said Mr Mustafa.
Lamu East MP Ruweida Obbo thanked the national government for hearing her long cry and coming down to Siyu, Shanga, and Mkokoni to install the communication masts.
“I am happy that my dream has come true. I had tabled various motions in parliament pushing to have my three villages connected to a mobile network,” said Ms Obbo.
In March 2016, the state installed mobile phone communication masts in various villages of Lamu considered terror-prone to boost communication.
The masts were specifically erected at Pandanguo, Mangai, Mararani, and Bodhei-Junction, all in Boni Forest where a multi-agency security operation Amani Boni is ongoing.
The operation, spearheaded by the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) soldiers and other security agencies, is meant to flush out Al-Shabaab militants believed to be hiding inside the dense Boni Forest.
Locals and security agencies had previously complained of the poor communication network, a factor that was cited as being the reason why the militant group chose to particularly attack areas with poor communication.
Other terror hotspot areas where communication masts were fixed by the government include Milihoi and Mkunumbi.
