Lodwar is the largest town in north-western Kenya, located west of

Lake Turkana Lake Turkana (), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. B ...

on the

A1 road A list of roads designated A1, sorted by alphabetical order of country. * A01 highway (Afghanistan), a long ring road or beltway connecting Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar * A1 motorway (Albania), connecting Durrës and Kukës * A001 highwa ...

. Its main industries are

basket weaving Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making basket ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. The Loima Hills lie to its west. Lodwar is the capital of

Turkana County Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is Kenya's largest county by land area (followed by Marsabit County), and also its northwesternmost. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan ...

. The town has a population of 82,970 in 2019.

History

According to the ''Insider’s guide to Kenya'' Lodwar's history began around 1933 when a trader named Shah Mohamed arrived on the banks of the

Turkwell River The Turkwel River (sometimes spelled Turkwell River) is a river flowing from Mount Elgon on the border of Kenya and Uganda to Lake Turkana. The river is called the Suam River from its source to the border at West Pokot County of Kenya. The name ...

. The roads were inaccessible, so he brought donkeys. He eventually built a permanent trading centre in Lodwar, including a gas station. The district commissioner's office was built, followed by a small medical clinic and a government prison. Police headquarters were built in

Lokitaung Lokitaung is a settlement in Kenya's Turkana County, a few miles inland of northwest Lake Turkana. Lokitaung is the site of the 36-million year old Lokitaung Basalt lava flows, which lay atop Cretaceous sediments including dinosaur bones. The bas ...

, as tribal disputes were common in the area. During the 1960s, missionaries built schools in and around the town. Shah Mohamed opened several stores in the remote towns of this Turkana county because he was the only contractor and supplier to government departments, carried mail to the area, and supplied and transported goods for the Norwegian and Italian fish-canning projects on Lake Turkana (both of which eventually failed). During the colonial period, Lodwar functioned as a transit point for British officials moving Kenyan political prisoners to the north.

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 ...

, Kenya's first president, was restricted to house arrest for two years in Lodwar, beginning in 1959. The town had developed a reputation as an isolated outpost removed from the rest of Kenya, but in recent years Lodwar has expanded and gained commercial and economic prominence.

Overview

Lodwar is considered the capital of the region, housing local and governmental facilities, including Turkana's biggest health facility and the main referral hospital, Lodwar County Hospital (LDH).Living On! Fighting HIV/AIDS in Turkana, IRC/Matija Kovac, 2010, It is also the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodwar The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodwar ( la, Loduarin(us)) is a diocese located in the city of Lodwar in the Ecclesiastical province of Kisumu in Kenya. History * January 11, 1968: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Lodwar from the Dioce ...

. The town is also served by

Lodwar Airport Lodwar Airport is an airport in Kenya. Location Lodwar Airport is located in Turkana County, in the town of Lodwar, in the northwestern part of the Republic of Kenya. Its location is approximately , by air, northwest of Nairobi International A ...

Climate

Lodwar has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''BWh'') with very high temperatures and very little rainfall throughout the year. The average annual rainfall is about . Lodwar has a very sunny climate year-round, with close to 3,600 hours of sunshine per year.

Issues

Lodwar currently has an electricity crisis. Only about 35 percent of all citizens in Lodwar have access to electricity in their homes. Though it is at the epicentre of the world's largest underground aquifers, its residents experience intermittent water shortages leading to the deaths of their cattle. The people here are predominantly nomadic pastoralists.

References

* Elizabeth Watkins, ''Jomo's Jailor – Grand Warrior of Kenya''. (1993) Mulberry Books {{Coord, 03, 07, 00, N, 35, 36, 00, E, region:KE_type:city, display=title Populated places in Turkana County County capitals in Kenya