Shirati is a town in
Rorya District
Rorya District is a district in Mara Region, United Republic of Tanzania. The district capital is the small town of Ingri Juu, while the largest town is Shirati. The district was created in 2007 from a part of Tarime District. It is bordered by ...
in
North Mara,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
on the shore above
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
, near the border with Kenya. It has a population of c. 100,000 It is the northernmost town at the border with Kenya at is located in
Royra District. Most of the residents of Shirati are DhoLuo speaking people Nilotes.
Suba people, a subbranch of Bantu communities who adopted Luo customs, language, and practices also live in Shirati. Similarly, Shirati has a substantial number of Westerners who work at the mission at Kabwana – translated into "the white people's home" from Luo.
History
When Shirati was part of
German East Africa
German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
, the Germans built a fort there, built a sturdy gravel road down to the shore of Lake Victoria where they put in a stone pier, as well as constructing a number of other official buildings.
Notes
Populated places in Mara Region
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