16^th October, 2011 marked the start of Operation Linda Nchi. The Kenya Defence Forces were deployed to Somalia to fight the Al shabbab. Tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of this operation that has been marred by criticism with regard to its success  in keeping the country safe. Weeks before the operation was launched, there was a spate of kidnappings of foreign nationals in the country that the government says further necessitated the offensive operation. Two of these kidnappings occurred in Lamu. In this report, we see how the island of Lamu has been fairing since the onset of these events.