Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47
counties
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 ...
of
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
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, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
located 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 ...
.
Eldoret
Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population ...
has the county's largest population center as well as its administrative and commercial center. “It lies between longitudes 34 degrees 50’ east and 35 degrees 37’ West and latitudes 0 degrees 03’ South and 0 degrees 55’ North. It is a highland plateau with altitudes falling gently from 2,700 meters above sea level to about 1,500 meters above sea level. The topography is higher to the east and declines gently towards the western border”.
Uasin Gishu is located on a plateau and has a cool and temperate climate. The county borders
Trans-Nzoia County
Trans-Nzoia County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya, located between the Nzoia River and Mount Elgon, 380 km northwest of Nairobi. At its centre is the town of Kitale which is the capital and largest town. The count ...
to the north,
Elgeyo-Marakwet
Elgeyo-Marakwet County is one of Kenya's 47 counties. Elgeyo Marakwet County is located in the former Rift Valley Province. Its capital and largest town is Iten. It borders the counties of West Pokot to the north, Baringo County to the east, ...
and
Baringo counties to the east,
Kericho county
Kericho County is one of the 47 Counties of Kenya, counties in Kenya. The county seats between longitude 35°02' and 35°40' East and between the equator and latitude 0°23' South with an altitude of about 2002m above the sea level. It borders ...
to the south,
Nandi county
Nandi County is a county in Kenya in the North Rift, occupying an area of 2,884.4 square kilometres. Its capital, Kapsabet, is the largest town in the county while other towns include Mosoriot, Tinderet, Kobujoi, Kaiboi, Kabiyet and Nandi ...
to the south, south-west and
Kakamega county
Kakamega County is a county in the former Western Province of Kenya and borders Vihiga County to the South, Siaya County to the West, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties to the North and Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties to the East. Its capital an ...
to the west.
Etymology
The county's name comes from the Maasai word Illwuasin-kishu. The land was the grazing area of the clan. They surrendered the land to the colonial government in the Anglo-Maasai agreement of 1911, and were subsequently pushed towards
Trans Mara District Trans Mara District was an administrative district in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kilgoris. The district had a population of 170,591 (1999 census) and an area of 2,846 km It was created in 1994, when Trans M ...
. The plateau that they once occupied was then registered in its Anglicised version, Uasin Gishu.
History
In 1903, the area was proposed as a potential Jewish homeland, as the
British Uganda Programme
The Uganda Scheme was a proposal presented at the Sixth World Zionist Congress in Basel in 1903 by Zionism founder Theodor Herzl to create a Jewish homeland in a portion of British East Africa. He presented it as a temporary refuge for Jews to ...
. This proposal was rejected by the British Jewish community leaders.
In 1908, fifty eight families of
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
-speaking
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
ns settled in Uasin Gishu plateau. They were followed by sixty more families in 1911 and more later. The town of
Eldoret
Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population ...
was established in the midst of the farms they created.
Population
Government
Urban areas
Constituencies
Uasin Gishu Sub Counties
Currently with the formation o
IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission)Uasin Gishu was newly divided into sub-county and wards. It has a total of six sub-counties namely: Turbo - with a Total of six wards; Kesses - With a Total of four wards; Moiben - With a Total of Five wards; Kapseret - with a total of five wards; Ainabkoi and Soy - With a Total of Seven wards.
Each Sub County has an administrative office in charge of it from the county Government. Wards administrators are in charge of wards and Sub County administrators admin the sub Counties.
Economy
Agriculture
![A cloudy day at Kesses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/A_cloudy_day_at_Kesses.jpg)
Uasin Gishu along with neighboring
Trans-Nzoia, are considered Kenya's breadbasket due to their large-scale maize and wheat farms which produce the bulk of the country's total harvest.
The National Cereals Board has a cereal storage depot located at
Moi's Bridge Moi's Bridge is a small town that has its roots both in Uasin Gishu County, Trans Nzoia County and Kakamega County, Kenya. It is a town that has since grown as an agricultural center with the third largest NCPB in East Africa. Moi's Bridge is an e ...
town located in the north of the county, which consists of eight large silos with a capacity of approximately 5 million tonnes of grain. It is one of the largest in the country and plays a significant role in Kenya's food security.
The county also produces sizable quantities of milk and horticultural produce. A wide variety of crops and animals are produced in smaller quantities.
Aquaculture
The county has 1,728 operational fish ponds covering 486,000 m
2 with annual fish production of 593,000 kg worth KShs 285,900,000. The county also has many private and public dams suitable for capture fisheries with an annual production of 33,048 kg worth KShs 9,914,400.
Industry
The county capital,
Eldoret
Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population ...
, is home to a vibrant textile industry as well as East Africa's only manufacturer of small arms and ammunition. There is also a substantial agribusiness sector that makes use of the produce from the county and surrounding regions.
Services
Eldoret is a major commercial center in western Kenya. Service industries like wholesale & retail trade, auto repair, entertainment centers and various IT services abound within and outside the town. Almost all Kenyan banks have a presence in the town and these act to service the region.
Tourism
Tourism, sports tourism in particular, is a growing sub-sector in the county - the result of long term performances by athletes from the region.
Transport
Uasin Gishu has 300 kilometers of tarmac roads, 549 kilometers of murram roads and 377 kilometers of earth roads. It also has 17 kilometers of railway line with 8 railway stations in addition to an inland container depot. The
Eldoret International Airport
Eldoret Airport is an international airport in Kenya.
Location
Eldoret Airport, , is located in the city of Eldoret, in Uasin Gishu County, in the midwestern Kenya, close to the International border with Uganda. Its location is approximately ...
and two airstrips are also located in the county, all combining to make it the regions service hub.
[Uasin Gishu County Governmen]
online
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Education
The county has several universities including Moi University
Moi University is a public university located in Kesses, Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu county, in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of the Parliament of Kenya, after recommendations from t ...
and the University of Eldoret
University of Eldoret is one of the 22 public universities in Kenya and situated approximately 9 km along the Eldoret-Ziwa road in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County. It was founded in 1946 by the white settlers as a Large Scale Farmers Tr ...
, which have their main campuses in the county. Several technical and vocational institutes are also located in the county, including Eldoret National Polytechnic, Rift Valley Technical Training Institute, Kipkabus Technical Training Institute, Moiben Technical Training Institute, Kosyin Technical Training Institute, Chebororwa Agricultural Training Center, Tumaini and Technical Training Institute, amongst others.
Notable people
*William Ruto
William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 December 1966) is a Kenyan politician who is serving as the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the 11th deputy president of Ken ...
(born 1966), 5th president of Kenya
* Elisha Tanui (born 1983), world-class distance runner
*Rachel Ruto
Rachel Chebet Ruto (born 20 November 1968) is a Kenyan educator currently serving as the First Lady of Kenya, First Lady of Kenya. She is the wife to William Ruto, the fifth and current President of Kenya. She was instrumental in assisting her hus ...
(born 1968), First lady of Kenya
References
External links
bushdrums.com
{{Authority control
Counties of Kenya