Mumias is a town in

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 ...

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

. The town has an urban population of 116,358 (2009 census). Mumias was the centre of the Mumias District. The town is linked by road to

Kakamega Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of Kakamega County that has a population of 1,867,579 (2019 census). Kakamega is 52 km north of Kisumu, the tenth largest city in Ken ...

(in east), Busia (west),

Bungoma Bungoma is the county town of Bungoma County in Kenya. It was established as a trading centre in the early 20th century. Naming Bungoma, was named from eng'oma—the Bukusu word for drums. The town was originally a meeting place for Bukusu ...

(north),

Butere Butere is a town in Kakamega County of the former Western Province of Kenya. It has an urban population of 4,725 (2009 census). Until 2010, the town was the capital of the former Butere/Mumias District. Transportation links Butere is linked by r ...

(south). The village of Buchinga is located between Mumias and Kakamega. The collapsed

Mumias Sugar Mumias Sugar Company Limited is a sugar manufacturing company in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is the largest sugar manufacturer in Kenya, producing about 250,000 metric tonnes (42%) of the estimated 600,000 metric ...

Company was a major employer in the region. The company owned the

Mumias Sugar FC Mumias Sugar was a Kenyan football club formed in 1977 and based in Mumias. The home stadium was Mumias Sports Complex. It was a member of the top division in Kenyan football, but the club was disbanded midway of the 2007 season. The club won t ...

, which was one of the top football teams in Kenya until it was disbanded in 2007. Five minutes outside Mumias town, on the road to

, there is a hospital called St. Mary's Mission Hospital and a medical college called St. Mary's School of Clinical Medicine. They are run by the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega (Mumias parish) which also sponsors several private primary and secondary schools namely: St. Mary's Girls High School, St. Anne's Mumias Primary School, St. Peter's Mumias Boys Primary School and St. Peter's Secondary School.

History

The town is capital of the

Luhya Luhya or Abaluyia may refer to: * Luhya people * Luhya language Luhya (; also Luyia, Luhia or Luhiya) is a Bantu language of western Kenya. Dialects The various Luhya tribes speak several related languages and dialects, though some of them are ...

kingdom of

Wanga The Wanga kingdom is a Bantu kingdom within Kenya, consisting of the Wanga (Abawanga) tribe of the Luhya people (Abaluyia). At its peak the kingdom covered an expansive area from Jinja in west to Naivasha in the East African Rift. The Wanga ki ...

. King

Nabongo Mumia Nabongo Mumia Shiundu (born:1849 – died:1949) was a prince who became 17th King of the Wanga Kingdom, a pre-colonial kingdom in Kenya prominent for being a centralised, highly organised kingdom and the most advanced form of government in terms ...

, who came to power in 1880, was the last sovereign king of Wanga. He was succeeded by his son Shitawa who ruled after his death in 1949 till the late seventies. He then was succeeded by Mumia II who is currently in power. His role remains largely non executive, but the royal family draws taxes from the trade that goes on in the county council of Mumias, which is to date still regarded as the seat of power. This includes taxes from the Mumias Sugar Company. The family still owns the land in the county although bits and pieces have been sold off to private developers. The entire Royal Family is still very closely linked to the choices of political leaders in the region as well as to their royal ties of the Abashitsetse clan. Each family has its own meetings (families keep the family tree with major families arising from the last sovereign Wanga government, with the brothers of King Mumia forming the Patriarchal Heads of the family). Mumias has a noticeable

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

community, unique in western Kenya. It derives from trade links between Wanga state and coastal Kenya. The town with two sub counties Mumias East and Mumias West in the larger county of Kakamega, is home to various Evangelical, Pentecostal and traditional Christian denominations. The town was known as ''Lureko'' until it was renamed Mumias.Daily Nation website, December 29, 2008
King Mumia’s plan to reclaim past glory of Wanga Kingdom
/ref> The Nabongo Cultural Centre in Matungu showcasing the Wanga Kingdom was opened in the outskirts of Mumias in 2008, near the traditional homestead of Wanga kings (Nabongos).

Mosque

The area of Lukoye has a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

called "Sheikh Khalifa Mosque", which was built in 1991 with

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

i assistance. Other mosques have since been set up such as the one in Ekero area.

History

Mosque

See also

References

Further reading