Muscat – Oman is expanding efforts to preserve its historical links with East Africa through a project documenting oral accounts of the Omani presence in Mombasa, Kenya, adding first-hand testimonies to its growing archive of shared heritage.

Led by the National Records and Archives Authority (NRAA), the initiative is part of a wider programme to trace Oman’s historical footprint beyond its borders and preserve the cultural legacy that connects the sultanate with countries along the East African coast.

The project complements the authority’s extensive collection of historical documents and manuscripts on East Africa by recording memories passed down through generations, offering insights into aspects of daily life and historical events that were never captured in written records.

A team from the NRAA’s Oral History Department is conducting field interviews with Mombasa residents whose personal recollections, and those inherited from parents and grandparents, reflect the Omani presence in the city and along Kenya’s coast.

The testimonies document the political, economic, cultural, social and architectural influence of Omanis in the region over different periods of history, while providing researchers with new primary source material on the long-standing relationship between Oman and East Africa.

Abdulaziz bin Hamid Al Mahdhouri, Director of the Oral History Department, said documenting oral history in East Africa is a key pillar of the authority’s work to complete the historical record of Oman’s presence overseas.

“The narratives shared by local storytellers preserve details that are absent from written documents and deepen our understanding of the human, social and cultural ties that developed between Omanis and the peoples of East Africa over the centuries,” he said.

Al Mahdhouri said the project goes beyond collecting interviews by preserving these using scientific archival methods to ensure they remain accessible to future generations and support specialised historical and academic research.

The latest field mission has gathered a substantial collection of historical testimonies that will be incorporated into the authority’s archives, creating an important resource for researchers studying Oman’s maritime history and its cultural links with East Africa.

Mombasa and the wider Kenyan coast continue to bear evidence of this shared history through historic forts, mosques, neighbourhoods, markets, ports and traditional wooden sailing vessels, reflecting centuries of interaction across the Indian Ocean.