The Trans-Nzoia District was an

administrative district Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

Rift Valley Province Rift Valley Province () of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the 2013 Kenyan general election. Rift Valley Province was the largest and one of the most economically important provinces in Kenya. It was dominated ...

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. ...

, located between the

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

and

Mount Elgon Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda.

with its centre at the town of

Kitale Kitale is a town in the north west of Kenya, in the former Rift Valley province, between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills. It has an elevation of around . Its population was as of 2019. It is the location of Kitale Airport. The National ...

. The district origin go back when the region was transferred from

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It 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 ...

in 1902. The area remained unclassified, but considered part of Kisumu Province, until 1905 or 1906 when it was admitted to the Naivasha Province as

Uasin Gishu District Uasin Gishu District, also known as Eldoret District, was one of the districts of Kenya, located in the Rift Valley Province. The town of Eldoret was its capital, administrative and commercial centre. It bordered the Trans-Nzoia District. The d ...

. It contained Trans-Nzoia and later in 1912, when Elgeyo joined, and Marakwet in 1917. In 1919, the colonial authorities split Trans Nzoia from Uasin Gishu District, where two years later, it became an extra-provincial territory. In 1929, Trans-Nzoia and Uasin Gishu districts formed Nzoia Province, only for the province to be absorbed into the

. The two districts will be joined again in 1945, then

settled A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

, were split up sometime later in 1949. Trans-Nzoia was maintained during review of district boundaries in 1962. It became one of the forty districts of Kenya, 1963. It had an estimated population of 575,662 in 1999. By the 2000s, Trans Nzoia District had ceased to exist as it had split into Kwanza, Trans Nzoia East and Trans Nzoia West districts. The three districts had a total population of 818,757, with a predominantly rural population across the districts. In 2010, after the promulgation of the new

constitution of Kenya The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme law of the Republic of Kenya. There have been three significant versions of the constitution, with the most recent redraft being enabled in 2010. The constitution was presented to the Attorney General ...

, counties were to be created based on the districts of Kenya that existed as at 1992. This effectively led to the creation of

Trans-Nzoia County Trans-Nzoia County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya, located between the Nzoia River and Mount Elgon, 380 km northwest of Nairobi. At its centre is the town of Kitale which is the county capital and largest town. I ...

. Historically the area had been inhabited by the

Kalenjin Kalenjin may refer to: * Kalenjin people of Kenya ** Elgeyo people (Keiyo people) ** Kipsigis people ** Marakwet people ** Nandi people ** Pokot people ** Terik people ** Tugen people ** Sebei people * Kalenjin language Kalenjin may refer t ...

people. After independence many of the farms vacated by white settlers were bought by individuals from other

ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

in Kenya. The district had three constituencies: *

Cherangani Constituency Cherangany Constituency (also spelled Cherangani Constituency), comprises the larger Trans Nzoia East District; otherwise known as Cherangani Sub-County, with an approximate area of 556.9 square km. It is an electoral constituency in Kenya, which ...

* Kwanza Constituency *

Saboti Constituency Saboti Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of five constituencies in Trans-Nzoia County Trans-Nzoia County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya, located between the Nzoia River and Mount Elgon, 380 ...

References

Former districts of Kenya {{RiftValleyKE-geo-stub