Kenya is where the Seychellois diaspora began. Through the colonial era a substantial Seselwa community lived and worked across East Africa, in Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda and Zanzibar, in the railways, the civil service, the churches and the trades of British East Africa. Mombasa and Nairobi were as familiar to some island families as Victoria itself.
The great dispersal
When East African nations won independence in the 1960s, much of that community was compelled to move on. Most did not return to Seychelles. They went to Britain, Canada and Australia, and in doing so they seeded the very hubs that dominate the diaspora today. London, Perth and Montreal all carry East African Seselwa family lines. The modern diaspora was born on this coast.
The community today
A smaller Seselwa presence remains in Kenya, in business, tourism, conservation and the Indian Ocean trades, alongside deep institutional ties between the two countries in fisheries and maritime security.
Official presence
Consular coverage runs through the region's missions, with Addis Ababa hosting the embassy to the African Union. See the consulates guide, and if your family story runs through East Africa, we would love the registry to show it. Join here.