[Red_Devil 232]

Mombasa came under the control of the sultan of Zanzibar in 1840 and was leased to the British in 1895. From 1905 to 1907 it was the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate. In 1920 it became capital of the British Protectorate of Kenya.

[cookcounty]

Mombasa is a major port, and if a person were traveling to or from Kenya by ship (as was much more common in 1961 than today), there is one city they definitely would transit: Mombasa.

[ThirdLaw]

Thanks for the update. You are a more tenacious Googler than I.

[jaxon72]

Mombasa was part of the state of Zanzibar until 12 December 1963 when it was ceded to be incorporated into the newly independent state of Kenya.