West Pokot County is a county of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kapenguria. The county covers an area of approximately 9,169.4 square kilometers and stretches a distance of 132 kilometers from North to South. West Pokot County is bordered to the north by Turkana County, to the east by Baringo County, to the southeast by Elgeyo-Marakwet County, to the south by

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 county ...

and to the west by Uganda. According to the 2019 census, the county has a population of 621,241. The county is home to Tegla Loroupe, one of the most famous Kenyan female runners.

Etymology

Demographics

Pokot people are the main inhabitants of the county and there is also a minority community of

Sengwer The Sengwer people (also known as Cherang'any and previously as Sekker, Siger, Sigerai, Segelai, Senguer, Senguel and Jangwel) are an indigenous community who primarily live in the Embobut forest in the western highlands of Kenya and in scattered p ...

Geography

Mount Mtelo is located in West Pokot County.

Constituencies

# Kapenguria Constituency # Kacheliba Constituency # Pokot South Constituency # Sigor Constituency

County subdivisions

The district has four constituencies: * Kacheliba Constituency * Kapenguria Constituency * Sigor Constituency * Pokot South Constituency

Economy

The West Pokot county economy is principally driven by agriculture and livestock rearing. Some of the main crops grown include maize, a staple ingredient grown mainly in West Pokot Sub-County, as well as finger millet, coffee, beans, onions, sweet potatoes, green grams, peas, mangoes, oranges, bananas, potatoes and pyrethrum. The latter two are mainly grown in South Pokot sub-County. In Pokot Central and North sub-counties, zebu indicine cattle have long been kept for meat production while in West Pokot and Pokot South sub-counties dairy breeds, primarily Ayrshire and Friesian, are increasingly kept for milk production.

Sport

Infrastructure

Energy

The Turkwel Hydro Power Plant operated by electricity generating company Kengen is situated in West Pokot County. Though the plant produces about 105MW of power which is fed to the national grid, many communities around the power plant and the extensive districts of West Pokot and Turkana do not benefit from this resource.

Notable residents

* Tegla Loroupe, A world record holder for 20, 25 and 30 kilometres long distance track running * Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, Kenyan-Israeli Olympic marathon runner *

Simon Kachapin Simon Kachapin (born 1967 in Sigor, Kenya) is a Kenyan politician. He was the 1st governor of West Pokot County in Kenya. Kachapin is a member of the United Democratic Alliance. He was elected into office in 2013 during the Kenya general electi ...

, 1st and 3rd Governor of West Pokot County * John Lonyangapuo, 1st Senator and 2nd Governor of West Pokot County

2019 Landslide

On the 23rd of November 2019 there was a landslide that has killed over 52 people. At least 22 other people are missing after this disaster, over 22,000 people have been displaced after this disaster.

References

External links

West Pokot County

Aridland.go.ke

Reliefweb.int

Map of the District
{{Authority control Counties of Kenya