Garissa ( so, Gaarrisa) is the capital of Garissa County,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province.

Geography

The Tana River, which rises in Mount Kenya east of Nyeri, flows through the Garissa. The Bour-Algi Giraffe Sanctuary, situated 5 km south of Garissa, is home to endangered wildlife including the

Rothschild giraffe Rothschild's giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi'') is a subspecies of the Northern giraffe. It is one of the most endangered distinct populations of giraffe, with 1,399 mature individuals estimated in the wild in 2018. Taxonomy and ...

, gerenuk and other herbivores including

Kirk's dik-dik Kirk's dik-dik (''Madoqua kirkii'') is a small antelope native to Eastern Africa and one of four species of dik-dik antelope. It is believed to have six subspecies and possibly a seventh existing in southwest Africa. Dik-diks are herbivores, ty ...

, lesser kudu,

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly con ...

and

waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus '' Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. Its 13 subspecies a ...

Demographics

The town recorded a population of 119,696 in the 2009 census, which rose to 163,399 in 2019. Most of Garissa's inhabitants are ethnic Somali.

Economy

Garissa is a market centre and the commercial hub of the Garissa County. The town has a university, Garissa University College and a number of colleges including Medical College. In December 2019, the Garissa Solar Power Station was inaugurated, providing grid power to Garissa town. Banks with a presence in Garissa include the Gulf African Bank situated in the Al-Wayf Quran House, the

Postbank Postbank or Post bank may refer to: Postal savings systems (alphabetical by country) * Bulgarian Postbank, a Bulgarian retail bank * Chunghwa Post, a Taiwanese postal service that provides savings account services * Deutsche Postbank, a German re ...

in the Garissa Shopping Centre, and the First Community Bank (FCB) in the Bajwed Building. Other banks with branches in the city include Absa Bank, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank,

National Bank of Kenya National Bank of Kenya (NBK), also known as National Bank, is a commercial bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank, and national banking regulator. Effect ...

, Chase Bank and

Cooperative Bank of Kenya Co-operative Bank of Kenya is a commercial bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank and national banking regulator. The bank has introduced Agency banking ...

. Livestock production is a significant part of the town's economy. Between 2005 and 2007, Garissa cattle producers earned over 1.8 billion shillings in sales in domestic and overseas markets. Construction on a new abattoir also began in October 2007. In terms of livestock imports, most of Garissa's cattle comes from cross-border trade between Somali livestock merchants.

2015 terrorist attack

On 2 April 2015, gunmen stormed the Garissa University College, killing 147 people and injuring at least 79. The militant group and Al-Qaeda offshoot, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. The gunmen took over 700 students hostage, freeing Muslims and killing those who identified as Christians. The siege ended the same day, when all four of the attackers were killed. Five men were later arrested in connection with the attack, and a bounty was placed for the arrest of a suspected organizer, Mohamed Mahmoud, also known as Dulyadeyn. Dulyadeyn was later killed by U.S.-trained Somali commandos from the Somali National Army on the night of May 31, 2016 in Bulo Gadud, a town loyal to Al-Shabaab, about 30 kilometers north of the port of Kismayo in Somalia. The Garissa University attack was the second deadliest terrorist attack in Kenyan history since independence (after the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Nairobi, in which 213 people were killed).

Governance

As the capital of Garissa County, Garissa is the seat of the County Government of Garissa as well as the County Assembly. The Governor of the county is Nathif Jama . The city is represented by Aden Bare Duale, a Somali

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the Garissa Township Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya. He was elected to the position in the Kenya National Assembly through the United Republican Party, an affiliate party of the Jubilee Alliance. He currently serves as the Majority Leader in the Parliament. During the colonial era, Garissa, as well as other parts of NFD, were collectively conferred to as the British East Africa province of ''Trans-juba'', and would subsequently be referred to as

Jubaland Jubaland ( so, Jubbaland, ar, , it, Oltregiuba), the Juba Valley ( so, Dooxada Jubba) or Azania ( so, Asaaniya, ar, ), is a Federal Member State in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo ...

, which split into two in the mid 1920s.Mwangi, Oscar Gakuo. "Jubaland: Somalia’s new security dilemma and state-building efforts." Africa Review 8.2 (2016): 120-132.

Accommodation

Several establishments in the city offer accommodation. Among these hotels and guest houses are the Almond Hotel, Xiddig Hotel and Nomad Palace Hotel.

Climate

Garissa has a

hot arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''BWh''), despite receiving around of rainfall per year, due to the extremely high potential evapotranspiration. Garissa's landscape is mostly arid, desert terrain. The city lies along the Tana River, and has a hot climate due to the low elevation and distance from cooler coastal areas. The daytime temperature typically rises above every day, but cools down every night.

Notes

{{Authority control Populated places in Garissa County County capitals in Kenya Tana River (Kenya)