Chuka is a town on the eastern slopes of
Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya (Meru people, Meru: ''Kĩrĩmaara,'' Kikuyu people, Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba language, Kamba: ''Ki nyaa'', Embu language, Embu: ''Kĩ nyaga'') is an extinct volcano in Kenya and the Highest mountain peaks of Africa, second-highe ...
, about 65 km south Of Meru Town. It falls within
Tharaka-Nithi County
Tharaka-Nithi County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya. It was created from Kenya's Eastern Province (Kenya), Eastern Province. The county has an area of 2609 km2 and as of the 2019 census a population of 393,177. It is home to the Meru p ...
and the former
Eastern Province. Between 1992 and 2009, Chuka was the capital of
Tharaka-Nithi District (split from
Meru District). Tharaka Nithi District was further split into Meru South and Tharaka Districts with Chuka remaining the Capital of Meru South. Later, Meru South and Tharaka were amalgamated into Tharaka-Nithi County.
Chuka people
The people of the area are Gichuka speaking, a dialect of the
Kimeru language.
Chuka Town is chiefly occupied by the Chuka people, one of the nine
Meru dialect Speakers. They dwell on the south-eastern slopes of Mt. Kenya, and cover the area between the
Thuci River in the south, and the
Nithi River in the north. It is a common tradition with the Chuka that they have always been in the forests of Mt. Kenya hence they moved down to their present abode. Other versions of the Chuka migratory tradition say that they came out from Mbwa with the other Meru.
The Chuka are believed to have sprung from the Tharaka, another Meru subtribe. They also have a form of blood brotherhood with the Igembe and the Tigania of the northern Meru dialects. On the other hand, there are some customs, such as the method of circumcision, by which the Chuka are similar to the
Embu
Embu may refer to:
Places
; in Brazil
* Embu das Artes
* Embu-Guaçu
; in Kenya
* Embu, Kenya
* Embu County
Other
*Embu people of Kenya
*Embu language, the Bantu language spoken by them
{{Disamb, geo ...
. The Chuka are primarily
Meru who, having climbed the first slopes of Mt. Kenya, clearing the forest for cultivation (even at present the fields of the Chuka are on the lower section of their country), mixed with the aboriginal inhabitants of the forest and established some kind of contact with the Embu. These aboriginal forest inhabitants seem to have been the
Gumba, now only remembered by some traditions and described as very small people. It seems certain that they were a pygmy race.
Some even say that the Chuka may have come from the Coast about AD 1300. Their exodus was provoked by an invasion from Somalia, which drove away the people living around
Shungwaya
Shungwaya (also Shingwaya) is an origin myth of the Mijikenda peoples.
Traditions known collectively as the "Shungwaya myth" describe a series of migrations of Bantu peoples dating to the 12th–17th centuries from a region to the north of the Ta ...
, north of Malindi.
Of the former
Meru District, the Chuka were those who suffered most the impact and violence of
Mau Mau rebellion
The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt, or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the ...
. During the Emergency, they were the only Meru to be forcibly settled into villages of the
Kikuyu and Embu pattern. Later, they were allowed to return to their fields, as before.
Population
The population of Chuka is 19,347+ according to the GeoNames geographical database.
Politics
Chuka and the surrounding area politics were dominated by the
Democratic Party that was led by former Kenya President
Mwai Kibaki
Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013.
He served in various leadership positions in Kenya's government including ...
from 1992 to 2002. When
NARC was formed in 2002, the population shifted their allegiance to NARC. It follows then that the local residents shifted to PNU in the contested 2007 elections and overwhelmingly voted for the PNU candidate - Mwai Kibaki. In the four elections that Kibaki contested, the area overwhelmingly supported him.
The Chuka people largely practice Christianity with a small minority of Muslims and traditional religions. According to Zaphania Samuel Mumbere, a scholar and an authority in the Chukan's customs, traditions and ways of life, the Chuka people were a close knit society that kept the spirit of the community alive by oral narrations and practices that were passed down generations.
Chuka is part of Chuka Igambang'ombe sub-county.
In 2013 the residents shifted to the Jubilee party headed by Kenyatta and Ruto.
Academics
Colleges have recently blossomed in Chuka and its vicinity with
Chuka University being the major new development, headed by Prof. Njoka. While holders of PhD degree were few or none 2 decades ago, in the last 10 years Chuka has had a major development in terms of PhD holders with notable figures such as Prof Micheni J. Ntiba. Notably, some are serving as Heads of Government Institutions, VCs, PSs and University Principals among others.
References
{{coord, 0, 20, S, 37, 39, E, display=title, region:KE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Tharaka-Nithi County
Populated places in Eastern Province (Kenya)