Webuye, previously named Broderick Falls, is an industrial town in

Bungoma County Bungoma County is a county in the former Western Province of Kenya. Its capital is Bungoma town. It has a population of 1,670,570 of which 812,146 are males 858,389 females as per the 2019 census and an area of 2,069 km2. It has nine constit ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. Located on the main road to

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

, the town is home to the Pan African Paper Mills, the largest paper factory in the region, as well as a number of heavy-chemical and sugar manufacturers. The area is heavily populated and is used mainly for

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no ...

. The area around Webuye is home to the

Bukusu The Bukusu people ( Bukusu: ''Babukusu'') are one of the seventeen Kenyan tribes of the Luhya Bantu people of East Africa residing mainly in the counties of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. They are closely related to other Luhya people and the Gisu o ...

and Tachoni tribes. The town has an urban population of 19,600 (1999 census) and 22,507 in total according to the GeoNames geographical database. Villages near Webuye include

Lugulu Lugulu is a settlement in Busia County, Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates ...

Milo Milo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Milo'' (magazine), a strength sports magazine *'' Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze'', a 2011 children's novel by Alan Silberberg * ''Milo'' (video game), a first-person adventure-puzzle computer ga ...

, Maraka and

Misikhu Misikhu is a rural town on the southern slopes of Mt Elgon, in Bungoma County, Kenya. Located ten kilometres north of Webuye towards Kitale, Misikhu is both an administrative and commercial town. Population Misikhu is populated by the Tachoni a ...

. Webuye is home to the Broderick Falls of

Nzoia River The Nzoia River is a Kenyan river, rising from Cherangany hills. It passes through Kapsara, Springer ,Moi's bridge then crosses to Kakamega county.It flows south and then west, eventually flowing into Lake Victoria near the town of Port Victoria ...

. In Maraka, there exists the famed "mfunje" suspension bridge which consists of rickety timber strips joined together with some metal wires, precariously dangling across River Nzoia. It attracts a considerable number of both local and foreign tourists who enjoy the thrill of crossing the river on the shaky locally-made bridge. Webuye has in the recent past also seen the establishment of some important education centres, including a constituent college campus of the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, and a Kenya Medical Training college Campus. The town's economy was hit hard by the dwindling fortunes of Pan African Paper Mills, which was closed down in 2008. Efforts have been put in place by successive regimes since then to reopen the paper mill, but without success. The nearest tourist attraction is the Nabuyole waterfalls on River Nzoia. The falls are seven kilometres from Webuye and provide a cool breeze to tourists.

Naming

In the pre-independence times, Webuye was known as Broderick Falls, after the first white man to visit the nearby Nabuyole falls on River Nzoia. Today, it's named after a cobbler who repaired shoes for railway workers.

Railways

The town is located on the main railway from

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...

. The area around the town is inhabited by both the

and the

Tachoni The Tachoni (meaning "We shall be back") are Kalenjin who were assimilated by the Luhya people of western Kenya, sharing the land with the Bukusu tribe. They live mainly in Webuye, Chetambe Hills, Ndivisi (of Bungoma County) Matete sub-county ...

Statistics

* Webuye has a tropical climate, and the land around it is used mainly for subsistence agriculture. Its latitude is 0.6166667° and longitude is 34.7666667° and elevation is . Average annual temperature is 24 °C / 75.2 °F.

References

Populated places in Bungoma County {{WesternKE-geo-stub