Othaya is a Kenyan town about 120 kilometres north of

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 ...

, the capital. It has a population of 21,427, of which 4,108 are core urban (1999 census ); the majority of the residents are of the Kikuyu tribe. Othaya is part of the

Nyeri County Nyeri County is a county located in the central region of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Nyeri. It has a population of 759,164 and an area of 2361 km2. It is currently under the leadership of H.E. Governor Mutahi Kahiga. Other gove ...

. It is an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

area with

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

and

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

as the main

cash crop A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...

s. Main crop grown in the area are Tea and coffee, while most farmers are subsistence. Othaya is home to Chinga dam, the largest water reservoir in the Nyeri County.

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

, the third

President of Kenya The president of the Republic of Kenya () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The President is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defe ...

, was born in

Gatuyaini Gatuyaini is a village in Othaya division of Nyeri County, Kenya. It is part of Othaya town council and Othaya Constituency.Electoral Commission of Kenya''Registration centres by electoral area and constituency'' The village is home to Gatuyaini Pr ...

, a village in Othaya. Othaya forms a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

, which has five wards: Kanyange, Kianganda, Nduye River, Nyamari and Thuti. All of them are part of

Othaya Constituency Othaya Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of six constituencies in Nyeri County. Othaya Constituency comprises Othaya division of Nyeri County. The constituency was established for the 1966 elections. Othaya Othaya is a ...

. Othaya is also the headquarters of Othaya

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

, which has four

locations In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

: Chinga, Iria-Ini, Karima and Mahiga. Othaya division has a population of 88,291 (1999 censusCommunications Commission of Kenya
Status of Coverage of Communications Services
). Othaya division has common borders with Othaya constituency, which Mwai Kibaki represented in parliament up to 2013. The current member of parliament is Hon Gichuki Mugambi elected in 2017 general elections. Stellamaris Othaya Girls High School is also situated in Othaya alongside Chinga Boys High School and many other schools.

References

Nyeri County Populated places in Central Province (Kenya) {{CentralKE-geo-stub