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 Mombasa Island. Importantly, both of these names have linguistic and spiritual connections with Central Africa. "Mkisi" is considered the personification of "ukisi" which means "the holy" in kiKongo. "Kongowea" can similarly be interpreted as the Swahili locative of "kongo" which denotes the essence of civilizational order in central Africa. These legends can be read as an acknowledgment of the Bantu-speaking origins of the Swahili people. Shehe Mvita superseded the dynasty of Mwana Mkisi and established the first permanent stone mosque on Mombasa Island. Mombasa's oldest extant stone mosque, Mnara, was built c. 1300. Shehe Mvita is remembered as a Muslim