Maua is a town in

Meru County Meru County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Eastern Province. It borders Isiolo County to the north, Tharaka-Nithi County to the South, Nyeri County to the southwest and Laikipia County to the west. Meru County has a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. From 1992 to 2009, it was the capital of the now defunct

Meru North District Meru North District was an unconstitutionally created district of Kenya, located in that country's Eastern Province. In 1992, it was split from Meru District, along with Meru Central District, Meru South District (Nithi), and Tharaka District. S ...

(also known as Nyambene district).

Overview

Maua is located 60 km North of Meru Town on the northwestern slopes of Nyambene Hills and west of

Meru National Park Meru National Park is a Kenyan national park located east of Meru, from Nairobi. Covering an area of , it is one best known national parks in Kenya. Rainfall in this area is abundant with in the west of the park and in the east. The rainfall ...

. Maua is the headquarters of Igembe South Sub-County and in the former Constitution, dispensation hosted a municipal council'( Under the new Constitution, the country was divided into 47 counties and Maua is but a town. Maua municipality has a population of 50,826, of whom 13,763 are classified as urba

Maua is one of the economically viable towns in Meru County. Ikweta Country Inn and Conference Centre, Soldat Teachers College and Methodists Nursing School are among the landmarks in Maua. Maua town is the center of the

Khat Khat (''Catha edulis''), also known as Bushman's tea, especially in South Africa, is a flowering plant native to eastern and southeastern Africa. It has a history of cultivation originating in the Harar area (present day eastern Ethiopia) and ...

trade in Kenya, and the world. Income from khat exports to Europe were sharply cut when the UK declared the stimulant a

class C drug The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (c. 38) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It represents action in line with treaty commitments under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the Uni ...

and banned all imports in June, 2014. Unusual for a town its size Maua has a wide mix of ethnicities, with Ameru, Somali, Kikuyu, Luo among the dominant residents. Places near Maua are

Meru Meru may refer to: Geography Kenya * Meru, Kenya, town in Meru County in the republic of Kenya * Meru County, one of Kenya's 47 counties that was created by the 2009 merger of 3 districts: ** Meru Central District ** Meru North District ** Meru S ...

Isiolo Isiolo is a town in Isiolo County, of which it is the capital. It is located in the upper eastern region of Kenya and is geographically considered the center of the country Kenya. It lies 285 kilometers north of the capital Nairobi. The town gr ...

and Kathwana

References

{{coord, 0, 14, N, 37, 56, E, region:KE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Meru County Populated places in Eastern Province (Kenya)