Mombasa Roots achieving a great popularity. In 1987 they recorded for Polygram their debut album, "Msa Mombasa", from which hit singles "Disco Chakacha" and "Kata" were taken. As many Kenyan bands, Mombasa Roots mostly played live in great hotels. This gave them some popularity among European and American tourists and foreigners in general, as well as the opportunity to play abroad (most notably in Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Dubai, and Oman). In 1999 they recorded a successful CD, "Lele Mama", that included some tracks from "Msa Mombasa" as well as previously unreleased material. Despite their success, Mombasa Roots experienced much personnel rotation. Most
Mombasa Island sprawl and industrial areas now occupy the rest of the island. Mombasa is linked to the mainland by the Makupa Causeway to the northwest, by the Nyali Bridge to the east and by the Likoni Ferry to the south. A road and rail bridge also serve the mainland container port near Port Reitz. Port Tudor and Tudor Creek were named by Owen Tudor the Royal Navy captain who first surveyed the area. Mombasa Island is one of the four divisions of Mombasa County. The division has a population of 146,334 (1999 census). It is divided into six subdivisions: Mombasa Island