Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya, and lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) at the Eldoret International Airport to more than 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) in nearby areas.
The Tugen are a sub tribe of the Kenyan Kalenjin people. They fall under the highland nilotes category. They occupy Baringo County and some parts of Nakuru County and Elgeyo Marakwet County in the former Rift Valley Province. Daniel Arap Moi, the second president of Kenya (1978–2002), came from this sub-tribe. The Tugen people speak the Tugen language. The Tugen population was 197,556 as of 2019.
Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Rift Valley Province. Eldoret city has the county's largest population centre as well as its administrative and commercial centre..It is bordered by Elgeyo-Marakwet to the East, Trans Nzoia to the North, Kakamega to the west, Nandi and Kericho to the South West and Baringo to the South East. It is a highland plateau with altitudes falling gently from 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) above sea level to about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level. The topography is higher to the east and declines gently towards the western border".
The Elgeyo are an ethnic group who are part of the larger Kalenjin ethnic group of Nilotic origin. They live near Eldoret, Kenya, in the highlands of the former Keiyo District, now part of the larger Elgeyo Marakwet County. The Elgeyo originally settled at the foothills of the Elgeyo escarpment, in the area between Kerio river to the east and the escarpment to the west. Due to drought and famine in the valley, the Keiyos climbed the escarpment and started to settle on the highland east of Uasin Gishu plateau. When the British came, the Keiyos were pushed to settle in clusters called reserves.
The Marakwet are one of the groups forming the ethnolinguistic Kalenjin community of Kenya, they speak the Markweta language. The Marakwet live in five territorial sections namely Almoo, Cherangany, Endoow, Sombirir (Borokot) and Markweta. Cutting across these territorial groups are a number of clans to which each Marakwet belongs. There were 119,969 Marakwet people in 2019.
Keiyo District is a defunct administrative district in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The district was formed in 1994, when the Elgeyo-Marakwet District was split into two — the other half was Marakwet District. According to the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census, Keiyo District had a population of 182,875. Its capital was located in the Iten/Tambach town. In 2010, the districts were re-joined as Elgeyo-Marakwet County.
Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya and serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county.
Kapatarakwa is a village in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya. Kaptarakwa is located about 37 km from the town of Eldoret in the Kenyan highlands. Kaptarakwa is about 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above sea level. Nearby is the Kerio Escarpment which drops down to 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level.
Kaptagat is a settlement in Uasin Gishu County, in the southwestern part of Kenya. This part of the country, where the two counties of Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet County share a border, is used by the majority of Kenyan professional long-distance runners to train for professional competition. Eliud Kipchoge, the former marathon world record holder, and the Tokyo Olympics and Rio Olympics marathon gold medalist, maintains a training camp in Kaptagat.
Elgeyo escarpment is a fault-scarp caused by post-Miocene faulting. Miocene beds are still visible. The escarpment is part of the western wall of the Great Rift Valley.
Kerio Valley lies between the Tugen Hills and the Elgeyo Escarpment in Kenya. It sits at an elevation of 1,000 meters in the Great Rift Valley.
Marakwet East is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of four constituencies of Elgeyo-Marakwet County. Between 1992 and 2012, the constituency had eleven wards, all of which elected councillors for the defunct Marakwet County Council. However, after the promulgation of the new constitution, the constituency was subdivided into four wards: Embobut/Embolot, Endo, Kapyego, and Sambirir.
Keiyo South is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of four constituencies of Elgeyo-Marakwet County. The constituency has 6 wards, all of which elect a Member of County Assembly (MCA) for Elgeyo Marakwet County which sits in the county Headquarters, Iten. The wards are namely: Metkei, Kabiemit, Chepkorio, Soy South and Soy North. The constituency was established for the 1969 elections, one of two constituencies of the former Keiyo District.
Sub-counties, formerly known as Districts, are the decentralised units through which government of Kenya provides functions and services. At national level, sub-counties take a more administrative function like security, statistical purposes, provision of government services, etc. Even though the sub-counties are divisions of counties, powers to create new national sub-counties lies with the national government. As of 2023, there are 314 sub-counties, compared to 290 constituencies. A deputy county commissioner is appointed by the state to lead each sub-county. The sub-counties are further divided into divisions, locations and sub-locations.
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 Trans-Nzoia District was an administrative district of Rift Valley Province, Kenya, located between the Nzoia River and Mount Elgon with its centre at the town of Kitale.
Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen is a Kenyan lawyer and politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports. He is also the former Cabinet Secretary for Roads, Transport, and Public Works in Kenya. Hon. Murkomen is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a three-time elected Senator of Elgeyo Marakwet County. He served for 21 months as Roads and Transport Cabinet.
The Sengwer people are an indigenous community who primarily live in the Embobut forest in the western highlands of Kenya and in scattered pockets across Trans Nzoia, West Pokot and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties. The Sengwer are sometimes portrayed as a component of the Marakwet people but are a distinct ethnic grouping with a distinct language.
The Chemwal people were a Kalenjin-speaking society that inhabited regions of western and north-western Kenya as well as the regions around Mount Elgon at various times through to the late 19th century. The Nandi word Sekker was used by Pokot elders to describe one section of a community that occupied the Elgeyo escarpment and whose territory stretched across the Uasin Gishu plateau. This section of the community appears to have neighbored the Karamojong who referred to them as Siger, a name that derived from the Karimojong word esigirait. The most notable element of Sekker/Chemwal culture appears to have been a dangling adornment of a single cowrie shell attached to the forelock of Sekker women, at least as of the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Elgeyo-Marakwet District, also referred to as Tambach District during the colonial period, was one of the districts of Kenya, located in the Rift Valley Province. Its capital was Tambach.
