Emali is a fast-growing town located along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway in

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Makueni County Makueni County (formerly Makueni District) is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Wote. The county has a population of 987,653 (2019 census). The county lies between Latitude 1° 35' and 2° 59' Sou ...

. It is a popular resting place for truck drivers ferrying goods from the Mombasa port to inland destinations such as

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

and even

the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. It is known as "the town that never sleeps" due to its vibrant night life. The town is inhabited by the

Kamba Kamba may refer to: *Kamba people of Kenya *Bena-Kamba, a community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo *Khampa, also spelled Kamba, Tibetan people of Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in ...

and

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

tribes.

Geography

Emali is on flat land and has red volcanic soil. Crops grown there include maize, beans and pigeon peas. Currently, the town is experiencing massive infrastructure development both by the national government and the county governments of Kajiado and Makueni. It experiences a warm climate throughout the year and two rainy seasons in October and March.

Transport

The old one meter gauge railway passes through Emali. One of the nine stations on the new

Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway The Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway is a standard-gauge railway (SGR) in Kenya that connects the large Indian Ocean city of Mombasa with Nairobi, the country's capital and largest city. This SGR runs parallel to the narrow-gauge Uganda R ...

is also located in Emali. There are also two intersecting roads; one from Emali to Wote ( the County Capital of Makueni) and another to Oloitokitok (Border town to Kenya and Tanzania).

Economy

There are two major supermarkets, Mulleys (permanently closed) and Eden Mart. There are several petrol stations: Shell, Total, and other independent stations. There is a mosque and several churches as well as hotels and restaurants. construction of fresh produce market is almost finished,this will change livelihood and business as well Financial institutions with a foothold in the town include Kenya Commercial Bank, Kenya Women Finance Trust, Sidian Bank,Posta Bank and lately Equity Bank. Emali owes much of its prosperity to the fact that it sits at a cross roads and straddles an area occupied by two communities practicing different economic pursuits, the pastoral Maasai and the crop cultivating Kamba. The most outstanding business venture in Emali Town is the 24 hour trade of fruits, vegetables and assorted cash crops e.g potatoes, water melons, onions, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, butter nuts, pumpkins etc as you drive along the major Nairobi- Mombasa highway. As a result, many other related establishments that support each other have sprung up including restaurants and rental apartments.

Challenges

despite being located at an highway,the villages surrounding Emali town lacks access to power and clean water,road access to villages serving matiliku town are only passable during the dry season,power distribution network is tedious

References

{{reflist Populated places in Makueni County 2. Alex Mwangangi 0721321204