To love and to lock: Bizzare Kilifi couples who 'tie the knot' with a padlock

Alphonse Kamanza Nguthu,has been working at the old ferry for five years and he says a week doesnt pass without couples coming here to declare their commitment. [PHOTO: MARION KITHI]

Old Ferry padlock of love, popularly known as 'kufuli ya mapenzi', in Kilifi County is slowly becoming the scene of a different love story. Over the last 10 years , padlocks have been discreetly attached to its railings. You notice them as you walk past it to the sea: one at first, a shiny brass lock, further on there is another, then another, clustered together close to the beach entrance. Most are simply covered with a pair of initials, many in the bold scrawl of teenagers. The locks celebrate the earnestness of first love.

Adjacent to the White Star Restaurant at the front of the iconic old ferry, couples lock in their love at the Padlock of Love installation. A sign in front of the hundreds of locks reads, "A Promise for Endless Love 'I Love You'". Created by an Italian citizen, Pes Pasquale, in February 2010, this statue in the heart of Kilifi town reminds couples to live in the moment.