Samburu County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the former

Rift Valley Province Rift Valley Province ( sw, Mkoa wa Bonde la Ufa) of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the Kenyan general election, 2013. Rift Valley Province was the largest and one of the most economically important provinces i ...

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

. It covers an area of roughly 21,000 km² (8,000 mi²) in northern

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

where the Samburu, Turkana and many other tribes live. It stretches north from the Wuaso Ng'iro River to the south of

Lake Turkana Lake Turkana (), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. B ...

. According to the 2019 census, the county has a population of 310,327. Within Samburu County are the towns of

Maralal Maralal is a small hillside market town in northern Kenya, lying east of the Loroghi Plateau within Samburu County, of which it is the capital. It is the administrative headquarters of Samburu county. The town has an urban population of 16,281 (19 ...

(capital and largest town),

Baragoi Baragoi is a market town in Kenya, lying north of Maralal and east of the Suguta Valley. It is located in Samburu County. The entire Baragoi division has a population of nearly 20,000 (1999 census) comprising mostly people from the Samburu and ...

Archers Post Archers Post is a settlement in Kenya's Samburu County, which is home to the Samburu people. Nearby villages include Lerata. The land belongs to the Kenyan government. There is a large military training area to the north east of Archer's Post whi ...

South Horr South Horr is a settlement in Kenya's former Rift Valley Province. It is located in Laisamis Constituency, of Marsabit County. The A4 Road from Maralal and Baragoi Baragoi is a market town in Kenya, lying north of Maralal and east of the Suguta ...

, Wamba, Lodosoit, and

Kisima Kisima is a small village in Samburu County in northwestern Kenya, southeast of the town of Maralal Maralal is a small hillside market town in northern Kenya, lying east of the Loroghi Plateau within Samburu County, of which it is the capital. I ...

. It also includes the

Samburu National Reserve The Samburu National Reserve is a game reserve on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya. On the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve. The park is 165 km² in size and is situated 350 kilometers from Nairobi. ...

Bisanadi National Reserve Bisanadi National Reserve is a wildlife reserve in Isiolo County, Kenya. It is adjacent to Meru National Park. The park is home to the lion, African elephant, cheetah, white rhinoceros, and African buffalo and over 400 species of birds. Visitors ...

, and

Buffalo Springs National Reserve Buffalo Springs National Reserve is a protected area in the Isiolo County in northern Kenya. Organization The reserve was established in 1948 as part of the Samburu - Isiolo Game Reserve, and the present boundaries were established in 1985. The r ...

Mount Ng'iro Mount Ng'iro is a mountain in the north of Kenya overlooking the Suguta Valley, part of the Great Rift Valley, to the west. The mountain is surrounded by desert, but is forested on its upper slopes. It lies in the territory of the Samburu people. S ...

Ndoro Mountains Ndoro is an administrative ward in Lindi Municipal District of Lindi Region in Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Grea ...

Mathews Range The Matthews (or Mathews) Range, also known as the Lenkiyio Hills, is a range of mountains in Kenya, Africa. History Originally gazetted in 1956, the Matthews Range was designated in 1964 as a forest reserve status. In 1995, a Trust was formed ...

(Ol Doinyo Lenkiyo), Kirisia Hills, and Loroki Forest. The main access road to Samburu County is the

A4 road This is a list of roads designated A4. A4 is the name of several roads: * A004 road (Argentina), a road connecting Buenos Aires-La Plata highway with the Juan María Gutiérrez circle * A4 motorway (Austria), a road connecting Vienna and Nickelsd ...

from

Rumuruti Rumuruti is a town in Laikipia County in Kenya's former Rift Valley Province. It is approximately 40 kilometers due north from Nyahururu, on the Nyahururu-Maralal road ( A4). Despite being smaller than either Nanyuki or Nyahururu, which are on the ...

-Maralal-Baragoi, which as of 2019 was being tarmaced from Rumuruti up to Maralal. There is a town named Samburu in

Kwale County Kwale County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kwale, although Ukunda is the largest town. Kwale county has an estimated population of 649,931. Kwale is mainly an inland county, but it has coastline south of Mo ...

also in

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

, but it is not related to Samburu County or Samburu people.

Population

County subdivisions

The county has three constituencies: Samburu East, Samburu West, and Samburu North. The headquarters of Samburu Central is Maralal, Samburu North is Baragoi and headquarters for Samburu East is Wamba. There has been controversy about the headquarters of Samburu East. Some schools of thought proposed Archers Post, a rapidly growing town, while others proposed Wamba town a less rapidly growing town

Government

The Samburu County Government is headed by Governor Jonathan Lati Leleliit who won the Samburu county's gubernatorial race in the 2022 general elections under the United Democratic Alliance(UDA). He garnered 40,740 votes against Dr. Richard Lesiyampe of the Jubilee Party who got 26,834 votes, and Daniel Lekupe an independent candidate, who garnered 1,847 votes, coming in third, and last but not least Richard Leiyagu who came last with771 votes. He succeeded the former governor, Moses Lenolkulal, who retired after two terms in office. A member of the national Jubilee party, Lenolkulal was the first governor following Kenya's devolution to county administrations.

References

External links

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Kenya AdminLevels 1-4
(.pdf)
Kenyan Police Attack Samburu Villages
{{Authority control Counties of Kenya