Tana River 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
Coast Province of
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
. It is named after the
Tana River, the longest river in Kenya. It has an area of and a population of 315,943 as of the 2019 census. The county borders
Kitui County
Kitui County is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kitui, although Mwingi is also another major urban centre. The county has a population of 1,136,187 (2019 census). and an area of 30,430 km2. ...
to the west,
Garissa County to the northeast,
Isiolo County to the north,
Lamu County
Lamu County is a county of Kenya located along the North Coast of the country and is one of the six Coastal Counties in Kenya. Its capital is the town of Lamu. It borders Tana River County to the southwest, Garissa County to the north, Somali ...
to the southeast and
Kilifi County to the south. The capital and largest town is
Hola (also known as Galole).
Apart from the River Tana, there are several seasonal rivers in the county popularly known as lagas, which flow in a west–east direction from
Kitui
Kitui is a town and capital of Kitui County in Kenya, 180 kilometres east of Nairobi and 105 kilometres east of Machakos. it covers an area approximately 30,496.4 km squares and lies between latitudes 0°10 South and 3°0 South and longitudes ...
and
Makueni
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 ...
Counties, draining into the River Tana and eventually into the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
.
District subdivisions
Despite the large area of th
Tana River district its only local authority is Tana River County Council. The district has three constituencies:
Garsen
Garsen is a small town located in Tana River County, Kenya. It is on the west bank of the Tana River.
Location
Garsen is located on the banks of the Tana River, in Tana River County, approximately south of Hola, the location of the county headq ...
,
Galole and
Bura,15 wards, 54 locations, and one hundred nine (109) sub-Location
Religion
The county consists of 81% Muslims, 18% Christians and 1% of people in other religions (including
Atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
).
Population
The major
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
s are the
Somalis
The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...
, of which the
Wardey
Wardey are a Somali Dir clan found in southern Somalia (Lower Jubba) and eastern Kenya, mostly along the Tana River.
The Wardey Ali are a pastoralist community. Mostly they live in Tana River County alongside Orma communities. The tribe has ...
are the largest
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
. The minority groups are the
Pokomo (many of whom are farmers), and the
Orma Orma may refer to:
* Orma people
* Orma language
* Orma, Pella, a village in the municipality Almopia, northern Greece
* Orma Marble Palace, situated at Kothakulangara
* Orma Film Festival
* Orma, Tibet
* ''Orma'' (film), directed by K. K. Ra ...
people. The county is generally dry and prone to drought. Rainfall is erratic, with rainy seasons in March–May and October–December. Conflicts have occurred between farmers and other people over access to water. Flooding is also a regular problem, caused by heavy rainfall in upstream areas of the Tana River.
A recent survey prepared by ALMRP, Tana River District presented to the Tana River District Steering Group (2004) found that the county is 79% food insecure and with an incidence of poverty at 62% (Interim Poverty Strategy Paper (I-PSP), 2000–2003, Kenya).
2012 ethnic violence
On 22 August 2012, in the worst violent incident in Kenya since 2007, at least 52 people were killed in ethnic violence in Tana River County between the Orma and Pokomo groups.
Villages and settlements
*
Ariti
*
Balguda
Balguda is a settlement in Kenya's Tana River County
Tana River County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. It is named after the Tana River, the longest river in Kenya. It has an area of and a population of 315,943 as of th ...
*
Baomo
*
Baomo
*
Borobini
Borobini is a settlement in Kenya's Tana River County
Tana River County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. It is named after the Tana River, the longest river in Kenya. It has an area of and a population of 315,943 as of ...
*
Bohoni
*
Bongonoko
*
Chathoro
*
Chewani
*
Chiffiri
*
Laini
*
Ijara
Ijara is a town and Sub-County in Garissa County, Kenya. It was previously capital of the former Ijara District. It is located 100 km north of Lamu and 180 km south of Garissa.
Alternate meanings
''Ijara'' means rent in Arabic ...
*
Fitina
Fitina is a settlement in Kenya's Tana River County
Tana River County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. It is named after the Tana River, the longest river in Kenya. It has an area of and a population of 315,943 as of the ...
*
Furaha
*
Handarako
Handarako is a settlement in Kenya's Tana River County
Tana River County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. It is named after the Tana River, the longest river in Kenya. It has an area of and a population of 315,943 as of ...
*
Idsowe
Idsowe is a settlement in Kenya's Tana River County
Tana River County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. It is named after the Tana River, the longest river in Kenya. It has an area of and a population of 315,943 as of the ...
*
Ingile
*
Irangi
*
Wacha Kone
*
Wenje
Wenje is a settlement in Kenya's Tana River County
Tana River County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. It is named after the Tana River, the longest river in Kenya. It has an area of and a population of 315,943 as of the ...
*
Maziwa
Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project is located in Tana River County. During the years 1981-1988 about 2,200 families from different parts of Kenya were settled in this irrigation scheme.
Tana River County consists of forest, woodland and grassland which are minor centers of
endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
. The forests are designated National Reserve status if they have >4 plant endemics and >7 vertebrate endemics (IUCN, 2003). Despite the apparent adequate natural resources, the region remains marginalized from the rest of the country. Efforts at development always seem to center on the huge River Tana, despite massive failures in all the previous irrigation projects in the district, i.e.
Bura,
Hola and th
Tana deltarice irrigation project which failed after the water works were damaged by the
El Niño rains in 1998.
See also
*
2014 Lamu attacks
On the night of 5–6 July 2014, heavily armed men attacked the Kenyan villages of Hindi in Lamu County and Gamba in Tana River County. At least 29 people were killed in the attacks.
Attacks
About 11pm local time on 5 July 2014, about 12 men ...
References
External links
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Kenya AdminLevels 1-4Tana River District: a showcase of conflict over natural resourcesat
ITDG
Practical Action (previously known as the Intermediate Technology Development Group, ITDG) is a development charity registered in the United Kingdom which works directly in four regions of the developing world – Latin America, East Africa, Sou ...
Map of the District*
Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project
*http://www.mambolook.com/tana-river
{{Authority control
Counties of Kenya
Tana River (Kenya)