Summer Tides Festival Wash Malindi by Surprise Though Clergy Cannot Hear of it

By Julius Mwabonje

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

The Summer Tide, Africa’s premier festival, takes Malindi town in Kilifi County by storm where beaches will be a beehive of activities with various artists converging to showcase their talents as attendees immense in merry-making during the three-day extravaganza.

According to authorities security measures have been put in place as 15,000 revelers are set to attend with hotels, home holidays and Airb and Bs within Malindi town and its environs recording 100 percent bed occupancy.

The event that is to start on Thursday, July 2, 2026 is the first largest event to take place at the resort town over the years with Lost beach hosting the occasion.

A spot check at the venue reveals workers of events organisers busy erecting the podiums and other entertainment related infrastructure as security officers patrol the beaches to ensure that everyone is safe.

According to Malindi Subcounty police commander Moses Kosgei and Malindi Municipality manager Dadu Chome some roads will be closed while traffic in and out of the town diverted to ensure there is no traffic clog around the events’ venue.

Kosgei said that he has already mobilised a security team that would involve General Service Unit (GSU) among other security personnel to provide security to revelers and maintain order for the three-day (Thursday to Saturday) event.

“We have mobilized enough security inside the event and outside the event area and we have various units including GSU, RDU, Prison, Tourist Police Unit, Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Police Service and we will close the Malindi- Lamu road and diversions will be there to ensure traffic flow,” he said.

Dadu said that the event is a testimony that Malindi town was reclaiming its glory as the preferred tourism entertainment destination.

“We’ve confirmed with the hospitality industry that hotels are fully booked and some of the visitors are already in town and even the airbnbs are fully booked,” he said.

Lyn Brand, one of the organisers of the event assured revellers of the best event of the year saying that they were working closely with the local authorities to make the event safe and successful.

“On our lineup we also have several acts from other countries just to bring people here and we are expecting more than 15,000 people,” she said.

Touted as Africa’s premier beach festival that takes place annually, the Summertides festival, attracts thousands of revellers hence boosting businesses and tourism in areas that it is hosted once every year in the month of July.

It is Africa’s biggest annual beach festival that cuts across diverse music experiences with artists and DJs from all over the world attending.

To access the venue, one has to book online. The tickets range from Ksh3,000 to Ksh6,000 depending on the classes of revellers and time of booking since it is booked online.

The event was started in 2017 and last year it was hosted in Diani, Kwale County at the Jacaranda Beach Resort and it featured world-class DJs, non-stop beach parties, and coastal activities.

On its website, the Summertides Festival is described as Africa’s top events, a music and entertainment bonanza that last year’s summer August brought more than 25,000 people to Diani as the 2025 host.

“The news is that this year it will be held in Malindi with the firm intention of continuing the work of relaunching the tourist destination with the results being visible apart from attracting young tourists and others during what is now superficially referred to as “low season,” states the internet website.

International DJs from South Africa and Great Britain are expected to grace the event of endless evenings on multiple stages with thousands of people, including foreign and local tourists, a mix of cultures, and the appeal of always offering something unique.

With a hashtag; #saynotolowseason, the event is set to revitalize the hospitality industry in Malindi and Watamu that relies on tourism peak seasons only.

“Who says you can’t have fun during the windy season? During the rainy season? Anything is possible with a change of perception. Don’t close your hotels or businesses during the upcoming low season, as they predict that Malindi will be crowded a week before the festival starts,” the website states.

Meanwhile Malindi Christian religious leaders have condemned the just concluded Summer tide youth concert saying it was the Sodom and Gomorrah immorality.

Led by the JCC church Bishop Thomas Kakala of Kilifi County, the clerics vowed that they would never again allow the event to take place in the town arguing that it was an act of indiscipline and contrary to African moral values.

They noted that young people were seen walking naked and engaging in public sexual orgies during the three-day event hosted at Lost Beach in Malindi.

Bishop Patrick Mathole echoed Bishop Kakala’s statement saying the church would not entertain such immortality through uncouth sex oriented concerts.

According to him young men and women were seen walking naked with some of them openly engaging in homosexuality.

A culture he said was strange in the area and the entire coastal region at large.

Bishop Macharia Gichui urged parents to bring up their children with utmost discipline and condemned the sponsors of the event for allowing youngsters to engage in immoral activities openly.