Search intensifies for missing Watamu fishermen as family pleads for government support

A desperate search is underway in Watamu, Kilifi county, for two brothers who went missing at sea five days ago while fishing.

Athman Lali, 24, and a father of two, and 21-year-old Hudheifa Lali, who got married recently, left for the Indian Ocean early Thursday morning but never returned.

Since then, there has been no sign of them, their boat, or any floating debris that could indicate what may have happened.

Their father, also a fisherman, said the two were expected back by 5 pm that day.

He joined the search mission in the evening, combing areas as far as Ngomeni, but the effort has yielded no results.

Watamu MCA Ibrahim Abdi has been supporting the ongoing search operations by providing fuel and other resources to fellow fishermen heading out to the deep sea daily.

The Kenya Navy has since deployed a vessel to expand the search, which now includes the waters off Lamu, while Captain Andy, a boat manufacturing company, has dispatched an aircraft to aid in aerial surveillance.

A somber mood hangs over the Lali family home, where relatives and neighbours have been keeping vigil, hoping for a breakthrough.

The wives of the missing men expressed gratitude to the Kenya Navy, Captain Andy, and the local fishermen involved in the operation, but urged the national government to step in with more resources.

“We are grateful for the help so far, but we are pleading with the government to assist with additional support so we can find our loved ones,” a relative said.

Ali Shabaan, a youth leader helping coordinate the rescue efforts, decried the lack of critical emergency infrastructure in the area.

“As a coastal community, we urgently need a government-owned rescue boat. Right now, Watamu doesn’t have one, and that puts lives at risk during such emergencies,” he said.

The search continues as the community clings to hope for a miracle.