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Nakuru is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of
Nakuru County Nakuru County is a county in Kenya. It is County number 32 out of the 47 Kenyan Counties. Nakuru County is a host to Kenya's Forth City – Nakuru City. On 1 December 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded a City Charter status to Nakuru, ranki ...
, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitants, making it the largest urban center in the Rift Valley, with
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 ...
in Uasin Gishu County following closely behind. The city lies along the Nairobi Nakuru Highway, a distance of 160 kilometers from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. It is the fourth largest city in Kenya, behind Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu respectively. It lies about 1,850 m above sea level.


History

Archaeological discoveries located about 8 km from the Central Business District at the Hyrax Hill reserve have been dated to the prehistoric period. The city was created on January 28, 1904 when an area within a circle having a radius of one mile from the main entrance to the railway station was proclaimed to be a township. The name of the town was derived from the
Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...
-speaking people of Kenya. During the colonial era, the British established Nakuru as part of the White highlands during the colonial era, and Nakuru became a municipality in 1952. Following the founding of the Republic of Kenya the first and second presidents of Kenya,
Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...
and Daniel Arap Moi, had their semi-official residences within the city. The city for a long time has been a hotbed of Kenyan politics and has been a home to politicians such as the late Kariuki Chotara, Kihika Kimani, the late Mirugi Kariuki and Koigi Wamwere. During the 2007 post-election violence dozens of buildings in Nakuru were burnt to the ground. On 3 June 2021, Nakuru was officially endorsed for city status after the Kenyan Senate voted for its elevation from a municipality. Following the approval of the Senate of Kenya in June, the President of the Republic of Kenya gave a city charter for official transformation of Nakuru to a city status in December 1, 2021, making it the fourth urban center in Kenya to be declared a city after Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.


Geography

The city of Nakuru is situated in Nakuru County, Kenya. It lies 1850 meters above sea level.


Climate

Nakuru has a temperate climate throughout the year but temperatures fall significantly at night and during the cold season of June to August. The city has a Subtropical highland climate ( Köppen climate classification ''Csb'').


Gardens

The Nyayo gardens are located along Kenyatta Avenue in Nakuru.


Economy

Agriculture, manufacturing and tourism are the main parts of the economy of Nakuru. The area surrounding the city is known for its agricultural uses, with numerous small farms and agricultural enterprises. The main crops grown around Nakuru include coffee, wheat, barley, maize,
bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
s and potatoes. These crops are stored in massive
silo A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used t ...
s at the outskirts of the city by the National Cereals and Produce Board and Lesiolo Grain Handlers Limited. The crops provide the primary raw material for the manufacturing industries found in Nakuru and Nairobi, such as flour milling and grain ginneries. Dairy farming is a key economic activity in Nakuru and provides the inputs for various milk processing plants around the city. Other manufacturing industries located in Nakuru include the Menengai soap factory, Car and General motorcycle plant, Eveready battery plant, Fertiplant East Africa, and many more. Nakuru is one of Kenya's largest retail supermarket chains. The Nakumatt, Naivas, Tuskys, and Gilanis supermarkets were all founded in Nakuru. According to a UN study released in 2011, Nakuru is Africa's fastest-growing city and the fourth fastest in the world. The city is also a centre for various retail businesses that provide goods and services to the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. A large public market lies to the west of the town on the main thoroughfare to the capital, Nairobi.


Human resources


Education

Nakuru is an important educational centre. It is the home of Egerton University, a large public university, and Kabarak University, a private university associated with former President
Moi Moi or MOI may refer to: People * Moi (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Moisés Delgado (born 1994), Spanish footballer commonly known as simply Moi * Moisés Rodríguez (born 1997), Spanish footballer commonly known as s ...
's business and religious interests.
Mount Kenya University Mount Kenya University (MKU) is a private, multi-campus, university in the municipal county of Thika, Kenya. The university was founded by Simon Gicharu, Prof. Simon N. Gicharu and has since become one of the largest private universities in Ken ...
, University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University also have campuses here. Nakuru is also a home to numerous public and private secondary schools. Public schools include
Nakuru Boys High School Nakuru Boys High School is an all-boys high school in Nakuru, Kenya. It is among the 17 traditional national schools of Kenya, that have been in existence for more than 30 years. History Nakuru High School is one of Kenya's National Schools lo ...
and Nakuru Girls High School, formerly Nakuru High School, Menengai High School, and Nakuru day secondary school. There is a public library run by the Kenya National Library Service.


Public health

The Nakuru hospital is one of the largest in the county, previously the biggest in Rift Valley province. It is also home to the Nakuru War Memorial Hospital opened shortly after World War I by Norman Jewell to commemorate troops.


Public safety


Police and law enforcement

Nakuru has a fire fighting service that works around the clock. They can be accessed by dialing 911 service. The number can also be used in case of any other emergency.


Transportation

Train passing by Nakuru


Air

Nakuru is home to the Lanet Airstrip that was approved in 2017 for upgrade to an international airport by the Ministry of Transport and the county government. Nakuru is also home to Kabarak Airstrip, located away from the city centre.


Road

Dondori road C86 linking the city to central Kenya. The Eldoret-Nairobi highway passes through this city linking Uasin Gishu County with the capital Nairobi.


Rail

The Rift Valley Railways narrow gauge track runs through the city with a railway station located on the edge of the CBD. it connects to cities of Nairobi and Mombasa to the east and Kisumu and Eldoret to the west. The government is currently extending the newer standard gauge railway from Nairobi to Nakuru and further on to Kisumu with a brand new station planned for the city. The railway line is expected to reach neighboring town Naivasha by June 2019.


Tourism

Nakuru is home to Lake Nakuru, one of the Rift Valley soda lakes, which forms part of the Lake Nakuru National Park. The park has large numbers of flamingoes that can be seen foraging in the shallow lake. The park also has many wild animals that can be seen during a safari. Apart from the animals, numerous other sites of interest are accessible from Nakuru. These include
Menengai Crater Menengai Crater is a massive shield volcano with one of the biggest calderas in the world, in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. It is the largest volcano caldera in Kenya and the second largest volcano caldera in Africa. Volcanic formed rich loam so ...
, a dormant volcano. Small fumaroles and steam vents can regularly be observed within the forested
caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
from above. The second largest surviving volcanic crater in the world, it plunges 483 meters down from the rim and the summit is accessible by foot or vehicle 8 km from the main road to Nyahururu. The wood-covered crater ground is a nature reserve. Although Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo are in Baringo County, they are easily accessible from Nakuru. These are major tourist attraction sites, too. The Hyrax Hill prehistoric site, discovered by the Leakeys in 1926, is considered a major Neolithic and Iron Age site. The adjoining museum features findings from various nearby excavations.


Culture and contemporary life


Cuisine

The food culture of Nakuru includes a variety of local and international cuisines.


Sports

Afraha Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nakuru, Kenya. It is mainly used for football matches, and it is the home stadium of Nakuru AllStars of the Kenyan Premier League and Ulinzi Stars of the Kenyan Premier League. The stadium can hold 8,200 people and opened in 1948. The stadium is two kilometres from the famous Lake Nakuru National Park. Even though it is a football stadium, it became famous for hosting many political meetings including the GEMA promoted change the constitution series held in the 1970s. The former ruling party KANU also held many prominent meetings there during the Moi era. Nakuru has local skaters that are easily notable in the Maasai market area on weekends. The Maasai market also has skateboarders. The Rift Valley Sports Club lies in the centre of the city. The club was started in 1907 by white European settlers who had settled in Nakuru in the early 1900s. A number of sporting activities are hosted at this club and one sport that is popular among them is
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
. The local Indian community can be found at cricket fixtures throughout the year. The city hosts an annual rugby festival, "The Great Rift 10-a-side", featuring teams from across the East Africa region. It is held at the Nakuru Athletics Club. Nakuru is one of six cities to host a leg of the national rugby sevens circuit. Nakuru's leg is referred to as the "prinsloo sevens". It has contributed to one of Nakuru's nicknames, ''Nax Vegas.'' A motor racing track, Nakuru Park, (not to be confused with the Langa Langa circuit near Gilgil) operated in the Lake View Estate area from 1956 until the mid 1980s.


People

Nakuru is populated by people from many regions of the world. The population is predominantly composed of
Kikuyu people The Kikuyu (also ''Agĩkũyũ/Gĩkũyũ'') are a Bantu ethnic group native to Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them Kenya's largest ethnic group. The te ...
and
Kalenjin people The Kalenjin are a group of tribes designated as Highland Nilotes and are descended from Maliri people ''(thus related to Daasanach of Ethiopia.)'' The Kalenjin are cousins with Datooga people of Tanzania and Malawi. In contrast, their desi ...
. The city has a sizable population of Kenyans of Indian origin and a few of the original settler families have also remained in the area. According to the 2019 Kenya Population Census, Nakuru had the third-largest urban population in Kenya. Surrounding towns include Lanet, which lies approximately 10 km from Nakuru, predominantly a residential town and home to the Moi Forces Academy and an army base. Njoro lies 20 km from Nakuru and is a small agricultural town with a local university aimed at promoting agricultural development in Kenya, namely Egerton University (est. 1934). Nakuru is now the headquarters of the newly created Nakuru county in the Counties of Kenya. The current governor is
Susan Kihika Susan Wakarura Kihika is a Kenyan lawyer, politician and the current governor of Nakuru County. She is also the first female governor of Nakuru County. She was elected as a senator in 2017 on Jubilee Party as a Majoritwhip Susan held the posi ...
and the Member of Parliament for the town is David Gikaria. The senator for Nakuru is
Tabitha Karanja Tabitha Mukami Muigai Karanja is a Kenyan businesswoman, entrepreneur and industrialist. She is the founder and current Chief Executive Officer of Keroche Breweries, the first large brewery in Kenya owned by a non multinational company. Keroche a ...
.


Sister cities

* Nakuru is a sister city of:


See also

*
Roman Catholic Diocese of Nakuru The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nakuru ( la, Nakuren(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Nakuru in the Ecclesiastical province of Nairobi in Kenya. History * January 11, 1968: Established as Diocese of Nakuru from the Diocese of Eldoret, D ...
* Railway stations in Kenya *
Nakuru County Nakuru County is a county in Kenya. It is County number 32 out of the 47 Kenyan Counties. Nakuru County is a host to Kenya's Forth City – Nakuru City. On 1 December 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded a City Charter status to Nakuru, ranki ...
* Lake Nakuru National Park * Menengai Forest


References


Bibliography

* (Includes articles about Nakuru)


External links


Nakuru Kenya

Nakuru

Nakuru Kenya

Nakuru Municipal Council

Nakuru online

Hivisasa Nakuru County News
{{Authority control Populated places in Nakuru County Provincial capitals in Kenya County capitals in Kenya