Lighthouses of Kenya

The Republic of Kenya is a nation on the equatorial east coast of Africa. Although the Portuguese were the first European colonists in Kenya, the country became a British colony from 1890 and remained under British control until it became independent in 1963. Kenya's coastline is a relatively short 540 km (335 mi) long but it includes the major port of Mombasa.

Swahili is the national language of Kenya but there is an Arab influence along the coast. As a result the word commonly used for a lighthouse is mnarani or mnara, words related to the Arabic manara. The Arabic word ra's is used for a cape. In Swahili taa is the word for light and the phrase taa ya taa ("lightbulb") is also used for a lighthouse.

Aids to navigation in Kenya are operated by the Marine Operations Department of the Kenya Ports Authority, an agency of the Ministry of Transport.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Light List numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.

General Sources
World of Lighthouses - Kenya
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Online List of Lights - Kenya
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Photos for Kenya are by Thomas Philipp.
Afrikanischen Leuchttürme auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.
Leuchttürme auf Briefmarken
Huelse's extensive and useful page of lighthouse postage stamp images.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for Kenya.


Ra's Serani Range Rear Light, Mombasa, September 2021
Google Maps street view

Lamu County Lighthouses
Lamu is a historic town, a former Omani trading base, on Lamu Island off Mokowe, about 240 km (150 mi) northeast of Mombasa on Kenya's north coast. The island attracts tourists to several modern resorts.
* Ras Kitau Range Front (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 6 m (20 ft); light characteristic unknown. 6 m (20 ft) round cylindrical fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. Brian Njoroge has a 2018 photo, another photo (3/4 the way down the page) is available, and Google has a distant satellite view. This range guides vessels departing Lamu Harbour. Located at Diamond Beach on the east side of the harbor entrance. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6832.5.
Ras Kitau Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane and light characteristic unknown. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) tower. No photo available but Google has a distant satellite view. Located about 150 m (500 ft) south of the front light. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6832.51.
* Shela Range Front (2)
2017. Active; focal plane 9 m (30 ft); quick-flashing white light. 8 m (26 ft) round hourglass-shaped fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. James Nichols has a photo (also seen at right) and Google has an indistinct satellite view. This lighthouse replaced a 6 m (20 ft) conical concrete obelisk, upper 2/3 painted black, lower 1/3 white. This is an approach range for the Lamu Harbour entrance. Located on the beach at the entrance to the harbor, near the Fort at Shela Beach, a resort built in the form of an Omani fortress. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6832; NGA 31176.
* Shela Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white flash every 8 s. 9 m (30 ft) square pyramidal tower, painted with black and white horizontal bands. No lantern. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. This light may have been relocated; it was formerly listed with a higher focal plane. Located on a steep hillside 380 m (1/4 mi) north of the front light. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6832.1; NGA 31180.

Shela Range Front Light, Lamu, March 2017
Google Maps photo by James Nichols

Tana River County Lighthouse
Kipini (Tana Entrance)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 29 m (95 ft); white flash every 7 s. 9 m (30 ft) round white fiberglass tower. A very distant street view is available and Bing has a satellite view. Located atop a bluff on the north side of the entrance to the Tana River. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6828; NGA 31188.

Kilifi County (Malindi and Kilifi) Lighthouses
Pillar Reef
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 6 m (20 ft); quick-flashing red light. 6 m (20 ft) round white concrete tower mounted on a round concrete base. Fahmi Athman has a distant view from the beach, Andrew Thuku has a second distant view, Busolo Bonface has a distant street view from the city's pier, and Bing has a distant satellite view. Malindi is a historic Swahili port town about 120 km (75 mi) northeast of Mombasa. Located in Malindi Bay on the approach to the Malindi Jetty. Accessible only by boat but easy to see from shore. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6825; NGA 31196.
* [Vasco da Gama Pillar]
1498 (probably restored or rebuilt several times since). Inactive daybeacon, charted by Navionics. Approx. 9 m (30 ft) round white solid coral stone tower tooped by a stone cross. Wikimedia has a 2021 photo, a tourist site has a photo (1/3 the way down the page), and Google has a 2023 street view and a satellite view. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at Malindi in 1498-99 and hired here a guide for his voyage to India; he said to have built the pillar as a daybeacon for the harbor. Located at the entrance to the Bay of Malindi. Site open, tower closed.
Malindi (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 10 s. 13 m (43 ft) white skeletal tower. The light is toward the upper left in a drone view and Google has a fuzzy satellite view. Located on Mnarani (Lighthouse) Road atop a promontory on the south side of Malindi's harbor. about 170 m (560 ft) south of the Pillar. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6824; NGA 31192.
* Kilifi (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); white flash every 8 s. 8 m (26 ft) round hourglass-shaped fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. Google has a street view (also seen at right) and a fuzzy satellite view. NGA lists a skeletal tower for this light. Kilifi is a city of about 130,000 residents and the capital of Kalifi County, located at the mouth of the Goshi River 56 km (35 mi) north of Mombasa. The lighthouse is located on Bofa Road on the north side of Kilifi. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6820; NGA 31200.
* Kilifi Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); continuous red light. 5 m (17 ft) round cylindrical fiberglass tower colored red with a white horizontal band. Nyamohanga Justus has a closeup photo and Google has a street view and a distant satellite view. The front light, probably similar, is 83 m (90 yd) downhill (south) of the rear light. Located on the north side of the river mouth. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6822.1.

Kilifi Light, Kilifi, April 2018
Google Maps street view
Kilifi North Pass Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); continuous red light. 5 m (17 ft) round cylindrical fiberglass tower colored red with a white horizontal band. A closeup 2022 photo is available and Google has a distant satellite view. The front light, probably similar, is 181 m (200 yd) downhill (east) of the rear light. This is the approach range for Kilifi. Located about 1.2 km (3/4 mi) south of the river mouth. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6821.1.

Mombasa City: Old Port Lighthouses
The metropolis of the Kenyan coast, Mombasa is a city of around 3.5 million people. Founded around 900 CE it is the oldest city of the country and one of the oldest cities of East Africa. Trading in spices, gold, and ivory, it had links for centuries with the Arab world, India, and even China. Mombasa is on an island, cupped in a bay off the Indian Ocean. The Old Port is on the north side of the island, while the modern port facilities are on the south side.

Cannon Point (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); white flash every 10 s. 13 m (43 ft) round hourglass-shaped fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. No closeup photo available but Google has a satellite view and a distant street view. This lighthouse replaced a square pyramidal tower painted with black and white horizontal bands. Located on a promontory on the south side of the entrance to the Mtwapa Creek estuary, about 15 km (9 mi) northeast of Ra's Serani. Site status unknown. ARLHS KEN-003; Admiralty D6818; NGA 31204.
[Old Port Entrance Range Front]
Date unknown. Unlit daybeacon. Square stone obelisk, painted white. Hannah Stafford has a photo, Agugu Rawya has a view from shore, Lightphotos.net has a photo showing both towers of the range, Google has a distant street view, and Bing has a satellite view. Although these beacons apprear to form a range it must have been an approach range because the entrance channel is somewhat to the west. These range obelisks can be seen across the old harbor from the ramparts of Fort Jesus. Located on the east side of the port entrance. Accessible only by boat. Site open.
[Old Port Entrance Range Rear]
Date unknown. Unlit daybeacon. Square stone obelisk, painted white. Mohamad Ashfaq Shariff has a view from the harbor, Elvis Kent has a similar 2022 view, Lightphotos.net has a photo showing both towers of the range, and Google has a street view (also seen at right) and a satellite view. It appears that this tower probably had a light at some earlier time. Located just south of the Four Seasons hotel and directly across from Fort Jesus. Emily Yoo has a photo showing one of the old cannons of the fort aimed across the river at this beacon. Site status unknown.

Old Port Range Rear Beacon, Mombasa, November 2014
Google Maps street view by Studio VR
#Ra's Kisauni (Ra's Kiberamini Range Rear)
Date unknown. Removed by 2019. This was a 12 m (39 ft) round stone obelisk, painted white. This is the entrance range for the Old Port, on the east side of the island. Located on the mainland, off Nyali Road east of the New Nyali Bridge. Site appears open, tower closed.
* Ra's Kisauni (Ra's Kiberamini Range Rear) (2)
2019. Active; focal plane about 27 m (89 ft); white flash every 2 s. 10 m (33 ft) round fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. I.D. Mwarabu has a very distant view (tower in the center, in front of the tall building) and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on the mainland, off Nyali Road east of the New Nyali Bridge. Site appears open, tower closed. Admiralty D6774.1; NGA 31220.
* Ra's Kiberamini (Range Front)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 18 m (56 ft); quick-flashing white light. 9 m (30 ft) round stone obelisk, painted white with two black bands on the seaward face. Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located at the end of Abdel Nasser Street on the northeast corner of Mombasa Island. Site appears open, tower closed. Admiralty D6774; NGA 31216.
Ra's Mwitani (Ras Mitani) (1)
Date unknown. Inactive. 6 m (20 ft) "white beacon," according to NGA. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. This appears to be another stone obelisk, but we need a better photo to decide that question. Trabas has Philipp's photo of the active post light (focal plane 6 m (20 ft); quick-flashing red light). The light marks a shoal extending from the east side of the Old Port channel. Located on the west side of the Old Port entrance, opposite R'as Kisauni and just off the Mombasa Hospital. Accessible only by boat. Admiralty D6775; NGA 31224.

Mombasa City: Ra's Serani Lighthouses
* Ra's Serani Range Front (2?)
Date unknown (station established 1902). Inactive as a light but maintained as a range daybeacon. Approx. 5 m (17 ft) rectagonal cylindrical stone tower, painted white with two black horizontal bands. The light was shown from a bracket on the seaward side of the tower. Huelse has a postcard view of the original light, which was similar but round. The tower is in the lower right corner of a photo and Google has a satellite view. Huelse also has a postcard view showing both towers of the original range; the front light was on the obelisk and the rear light on a cast iron tower (next entry). This is the approach range for Mombasa. Located at the edge of the seaside cliff southeast of the modern front light. Site open, tower closed.
* Ra's Serani Range Front (3?)
Date unknown (station established 1902). Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); quick-flashing white light. 12 m (39 ft) round white metal tower. Victor Odongo has a view from the sea (lighthouse at upper right), Trabas has Philipp's distant view from the sea, and Google has the 2018 street view at right, a 2021 street view, and a satellite view. Huelse has a postcard view showing both lights of the original range; the front light was on the obelisk and the rear light on the round cast iron tower. When the taller rear light (next entry) was built, the former rear tower became the front light of the range. The range guides ships into Mombasa from the Indian Ocean. The Kenya Ports Authority operates a signal station a few feet to the south. Located on Ra's Serani, at the foot of Lighthouse Road (Magaret Avenue) in Mombasa (the street is aligned with the range line). Site open, tower closed. ARLHS KEN-005; Admiralty D6772; NGA 31208.
* Ra's Serani Range Rear (Mombasa) (2)
Date unknown (1920s?) (station established 1902). Active; focal plane 45 m (148 ft); white flash every 5 s. 33 m (108 ft) round stone tower with lantern and gallery, painted with black and white horizontal bands. Google's 2021 street view is at the top of this page, Mike Hooley has a good photo, another good photo is available, Spike Reid has a closeup, Sajeesh Kumar has a 2016 photo, and Google has a satellite view. Huelse's postcard view shows both lights of the original range; the original rear light was a cast iron tower with lantern and gallery (see previous entry). Huelse has also posted a historic postcard view of the current rear light. Located at the right-angle bend of Magaret Avenue (Lighthouse Road), 330 m (0.2 mi) northwest of the front light. ARLHS KEN-006; Admiralty D6772.1; NGA 31212.

R'as Serani Range Front Light, Mombasa, March 2018
ex-Google Maps street view

Mombasa City: Modern Port Lighthouses
Shimanzi Range Front
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); flashing red light in groups of three, period unknown. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. This range guides ships leaving the inner Port Reitz harbor. Located at the water's edge in a petroleum tank farm near the northwest corner of Mombasa Island. Site and tower closed. Admiralty D6814; NGA 112-31267.
Shimanzi Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 2 s. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. Google has a street view and Bing has an indistinct satellite view. Located in the petroleum tank farm about 300 m (990 ft) east of the front light. Site and tower closed. Admiralty D6814.1; NGA 112-31267.1.
Ra's Mchangamwe Range Front (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 16 m (52 ft); quick-flashing red light. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. Alex Morex has a distant 2021 view (red top of tower behind the blue roof) and Bing has a fuzzy satellite view. Located in the port area at the north end of Port Kilindini, the sound on the west side of Mombasa Island. Site and tower closed. Admiralty D6812; NGA 31256.
* Ra's Mchangamwe Range Rear (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 45 m (148 ft); white flash every 2 s. Approx. 40 m (131 ft) skeletal tower. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. The earlier light was described as a 19 m (62 ft) square stone obelisk. Located on the north side of the main highway just west of the Makupa Causeway, which connects the old city of Mombasa to the mainland. Site apparently open, tower closed. ARLHS KEN-007; Admiralty D6812.1; NGA 31260.
Port Reitz Range Front
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); quick-flashing white light. 10 m (33 ft) white metal tower painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Port Reitz is a new facility at the head of the estuary about 10 km (6 mi) west of Mombasa Island. Located near the west end of the estuary. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6814.4.
Port Reitz Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white flash every 2 s. 15 m (49 ft) white metal tower painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located about 475 m (0.3 mi) west of the front light. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6814.5.
Mtongwe (Kilindini) Range Rear (1)
Date unknown. Inactive since 2019 and possibly removed. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) square white concrete obelisk. The light was displayed from a bracket near the top of the tower. Lightphotos.net's photo is at right and Google has an indistinct satellite view. This range guides vessels in Mombasa's Kilindini Harbor, the modern harbor on the south side of the island. Located on a forested peninsula across the harbor from the commercial docks. Site status unknown.
Mtongwe Range Rear
Mtongwe (Kilindini) Range Rear Light, Mombasa
photo copyright Dmitry Rostopshin; used by permission
Mtongwe (Kilindini) Range Rear (2)
2019. Active; focal plane 28 m (92 ft) white flash every 2 s. 15 m (49 ft) round fiberglass tower colored red with a white horizontal band. No photo available. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6794.1; NGA 31244.
Mtongwe (Kilindini) Range Front (1)
Date unknown. Inactive since 2019 and possibly removed. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) square white concrete obelisk. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located 250 m (820 ft) southeast of the rear light.
Mtongwe (Kilindini) Range Front (2)
2019. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); quick-flashing white light. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) square white concrete obelisk. No photo available. Admiralty D6794; NGA 31240.
 
* Likoni
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); red, white, or green light depending on direction, 2.5 s on, 2.5 s off. 12 m (39 ft) square obelisk, painted white with a vertical orange stripe on each face. Google has a street view seen at right, Trabas has Philipp's photo, Ali Jabiri Chivatsi has a 2017 photo and a view from the harbor, and Google has another street view and a satellite view. In a Lightphotos.net photo, this lighthouse is the tall white tower to the right of center. This obelisk has been equipped with a directional light guiding outbound ships. Located in Likoni on the south side of the entrance to the south (modern) harbor of Mombasa. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS KEN-008; Admiralty D6796; NGA 31236.
* Likoni (Mombasa Entrance) Range Front (2)
2013. Active; focal plane 11 m (36 ft); quick-flashing red light. 8 m (26 ft) round fiberglass tower colored red with a white horizontal band. Ali Jabiri Chivatsi has a 2017 photo and a more distant view also showing the Likoni lighthouse on the right, Trabas has Philipp's photo, and Google has a good street view and a satellite view. The present range lights replaced lights described as obelisks, white with a black vertical stripe; these towers are seen to the left in a 2009 Lightphotos.net photo of the Likoni lighthouse. Located at the water's edge about 200 m (220 yd) east of the lighthouse. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6784; NGA 31228.
 

Likoni Light, Mombasa, October 2021
Google Maps street view
 
* Likoni (Mombasa Entrance) Range Rear (2)
2013. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); red flash every 2 s. 11 m (36 ft) round barbell-shaped fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. Google has a closeup street view (also seen at right) and a satellite view. The present range lights replaced lights described as obelisks, white with a black vertical stripe; these towers are seen to the right in a 2009 Lightphotos.net photo of the Likoni lighthouse. Located 354 m (1/4 mi) west southwest of the front light and 250 m southwest of the Likoni lighthouse. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6784.1; NGA 31232.

Kwale County (Southern Kenya) Lighthouses
Chale Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 30 m (98 ft); two white flashes every 20 s. Approx. 25 m (82 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower. The tower is seen at the upper right of an aerial photo and Google has a satellite view. The island shelters the harbor of the fishing port of Gazi and is the site of a beach resort, the Sands at Chale Island. Located on the southern tip of the island (the other end from the resort). Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D6770; NGA 31268.
Wasin Island Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white flash every 5 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on the largest of the Wasini islands, off Shimoni at the southern end of Kenya's coast. The front light is on a 10 m (33 ft) skeletal tower. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6769.5.
Pungutiayu (Mpungutiyajuu)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); 16 m (52 ft) round fiberglass tower, colored with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a distant satellite view. Located on the outermost of the Wasini islands. Accessible only by boat. Site probably open, tower closed. Admiralty D6769; NGA 31272.

Likoni Range Rear Light, Mombasa, March 2018
Google Maps street view
 

Lake Victoria Lighthouses
Lake Victoria is the world's largest tropical lake. Only the northeastern corner of the lake is in Kenya; most of it is in Tanzania and Uganda. Kisumu, at the head of Winam Gulf, is Kenya's only lake port.

*
Kisumu
2013. Active; focal plane about 17 m (56 ft); red light, pattern unknown. Approx. 11 m (36 ft) round barbell-shaped fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. In 2014 the Comarco Group received a contract to install lightbeacons at Kisumu, at five locations on the lake in Tanzania, and at three locations in Uganda. Victor Ochieng has the photo seen at right and Google has a street view and a satellite view. Site appears open, tower closed.
[Asembo Bay]
1954. Active; characteristics unknown. Small square post light on a concrete base. Post painted white; the small lantern is red. No photo available but there is a 1993 postage stamp image. Located somewhere near the town of Asembo Bay, roughly 40 km (25 mi) west of Kisumu. Site status unknown; the light can probably be seen from the Kenya Railways passenger ferry between Kusumu and Asembo Bay. ARLHS KEN-002.
[Gingira Rock]
1954. Active; characteristics unknown. Small square post light on a concrete base. Post painted white; the small lantern is red. No photo available but there is a 1993 postage stamp image and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Sibling of Asembo Bay. Located on a small island in the entrance to Asembo Bay from the Winam Gulf, about 18 km (11 mi) south of Asembo Bay. Site status unknown; the light can probably be seen from the Kenya Railways passenger ferry between Kisumu and Asembo Bay. ARLHS KEN-004.

Kisumu Light, Kisumu, July 2016
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Victor Ochieng

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Somalia | South: Tanzania | West: Uganda

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Posted June 16, 2005. Checked and revised December 14, 2023. Lighthouses: 34. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.