Moi's Bridge is a small town that has its roots both in

Uasin Gishu County Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Rift Valley Province. Eldoret has the county's largest population center as well as its administrative and commercial center. “It lies between longitudes 34 degrees ...

, Trans Nzoia County and Kakamega County,

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. It is a town that has since grown as an agricultural center with the third largest NCPB in East Africa. Moi's Bridge is an electoral ward of the Soy Constituency and Uasin Gishu County. It is an important Kenyan area, often named as the 'bread basket' of Kenya. Moi's Bridge is also a

location In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

in the

Soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of Uasin Gishu District.

Etymology

The town is named for the bridge across the Nzoia River which it grew around and as a result of. It was initially named Hoey's Bridge after Cecil Hoey, the original builder of the bridge. The name later changed to Moi's Bridge after independence, named after the second president Hon Daniel Toroitich arap Moi.

History

Cecil Hoey, one of the first European residents in the Trans-Nzoia region built a bridge across the Nzoia River so as to drive his ox teams over. A small settlement grew up around the bridge and this grew into the small town that is Moi's Bridge.

Economy

The major industry in the town is cereal storage. The National Cereals Board has a cereal storage depot located in the town which consists of eight large silos with a capacity of approximately 5 million tonnes of grain. It is one of the largest in the country and plays a significant role in Kenya's food security. In the recent past, Moi's Bridge has since taken a new shape with great engineers. Some of the growing industries includes quarry mining and milling firms.

Culture and social life

The town is polytheistic. The

Kalenjin Kalenjin may refer to: * Kalenjin people The Kalenjin are a group of tribes designated as Highland Nilotes and are descended from Maliri people ''(thus related to Daasanach of Ethiopia.)'' The Kalenjin are cousins with Datooga people of Tan ...

tribe first inhabited the area, followed by 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 ...

community. The town and its surrounding area currently exists peacefully, sharing their cultural diversity, and thus let to a rich social life among the inhabitants.

Transport

Moi's Bridge is located along the B2 road (

Eldoret Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population ...

Kitale Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills at an elevation of around . Its population is 106,187 as of 2009. Kitale is the headquarter town of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is r ...

Road). The C50 road leads from Moi's Bridge to

Moiben Moiben is a settlement in Moiben Constituency, of Uasin Gishu County of Kenya's former Rift Valley Province Rift Valley Province ( sw, Mkoa wa Bonde la Ufa) of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the Kenyan ...

in the west.The Rough Guide Map - Kenya Moi's Bridge is served by a railway station on the branch railway to Kitale. With the recent discovery of oil in the Turukana county, this road is expected to be improved as since it is here that it will aid the transportation of crude oil.

References