Mai Mahiu

Maai Mahiu
Maai Mahiu Location of Maai Mahiu
Coordinates: 0°58′51″S36°35′15″E / 0.98078°S 36.58742°E / -0.98078; 36.58742 ,
Country	Kenya
County	Nakuru County
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)

Maai Mahiu is a town in Kenya's Nakuru County. The name means "hot water" in native Kikuyu, but another derivative could be "me'imayu", meaning impassable in Maasai.

The town is a trucking hub and is often considered to be a safe heaven for sex trade. Some studies confirm that underage prostitution is witnessed in the town.

Maai Mahiu has a train station as well as an inland container depot on the Nairobi–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway, which was inaugurated in October 2019. ^{[1] [2]}

The Kenya government has established a 50-acre Special Economic Zone in Maai Mahiu, ^[3] to facilitate investment in the region, in financial, hospitality, retail, and recreational facilities.

View of Mai Mahiu in 2013

In April 2024, a flash flood nearby killed at least 50 people in the village of Kamuchiri. ^{[4] [5] [6]} The flood resulted from a blockage in a culvert beneath a railway embankment which led to a catastrophic failure and inundation; initially, it was reported as arising from a dam burst. ^[7]

References

1. Gitonga, Antony (October 17, 2019). "Fanfare as new route is launched". The Standard. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
2. "President Uhuru launches Nairobi-Suswa SGR". Standard Digital. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
3. "Investors eye 50-acre Special Economic Zone in Mai-Mahiu". The Star. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
4. "Kenya dam bursts: More than 40 killed in Kamuchiri village". 29 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
5. "40 people die in western Kenya after a dam collapses". The Associated Press/ ABC News. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
6. "Dozens dead after dam bursts amid torrential rain in Kenya". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
7. "Kenya flooding: Around 50 killed in villages near Mai Mahiu town". www.bbc.com. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.