Nandi Hills | |
|---|---|
  Nandi Hills Location in Kenya | |
| Coordinates: 00°06′01″N35°10′35″E / 0.10028°N 35.17639°E | |
| Country |  Kenya |
| County | Nandi County |
| Elevation | 6,716 ft (2,047 m) |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 73,626 |
Nandi Hills is a town and also an electoral constituency in Kenya's Nandi County.The name also refers to the general area of Nandi County, where the urban settlement is located. Its current Member of Parliament is Hon. Bernard Kibor Kitur of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
Nandi Hills is located in a highland area of Lush Green Rolling Hills at the edge of the Great Rift Valley in the southwestern part of Kenya. It is located approximately 303 kilometres (188 mi), by road, northwest of Nairobi, the capital and largest city in the country. [1] The coordinates of Nandi Hills, Kenya are: 0°06'01.0"N, 35°10'35.0"E (Latitude: 0.100278; Longitude: 35.176389). [2] Nandi Hills lies an elevation of approximately 2,047 metres (6,716 ft), above sea level. [3]
The small town named Nandi Hills, is often referred to as the "cradle land of Kenyan running". The area is home to many world-renowned athletes, including Kipchoge Keino, Wilson Kipketer, Janeth Jepkosgei, Augustine Choge, Wilfred Bungei, Henry Rono and Mike Boit. The area is mostly inhabited by the Nandi people. Nandi Hills has a cool and wet climate with two rain seasons during the equinoxes. Temperatures vary between 18 °C and 24 °C which coupled with the rich volcanic soils make the area ideal for growing tea. The scenic area is known for its many tea estates. There is also a golf course, Nandi Bears Club, where several annual tournaments are held annually such as the Gill Trophy, the Kenya Ladies' Golf Union and the prestigious Kenya Breweries Festival of Golf besides rally and cross countries. [4]
It is a very significant area of Rift Valley province and the Kalenjin community. It was a battleground against the Luo and Luhya communities and the burial site of the renowned Nandi seer Koitalel Arap Samoei. He is buried under a symbolic tree. On top of Nandi Hills sits Samoei with its red earth. When Koitalel was killed by British officer Richard Meinertzhagen, some believe the ground turned red on the spot of his death.
The economy of Nandi Hills relies mainly on the surrounding tea estates. Many people work on tea farms as pluckers, managers, field maintenance, factory service works, official duties and business. Nandi Hills town has barely a tarmac street despite a lot of taxes accrued from tea farms.
The transport system in Nandi Hills is mainly land-based via tarmac. The Nandi Hills road network connects it to major Kenyan cities including Eldoret, Nakuru, Kericho, Kisumu and, ultimately, Nairobi and Mombasa.
Eldoret is town and urban centre in Kenya. Gazetted as a municipality, it is in the Rift Valley region, and it serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 population census, Eldoret is the fifth most populated urban area in the country after Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Ruiru. Lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) at the airport to more than 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) in nearby areas. The population was 289,380 in the 2009 Census, and it was the fastest growing city in Kenya with 475,716 people according to 2019 National Census. Eldoret was on course to be named Kenya's fourth city, but was edged out by Nakuru in 2021.
The Kalenjin are a group of tribes indigenous to East Africa, residing mainly in what was formerly the Rift Valley Province in Kenya and the Eastern slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda. They number 6,358,113 individuals per the Kenyan 2019 census and an estimated 273,839 in Uganda according to the 2014 census mainly in Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo districts.
Limuru is a town in central Kenya. It is also the name of a parliamentary constituency and an administrative division. The population of the town, as of 2004, was about 4,800. In a census taken in 2019 the population had increased to 159,314.
Kitale is an agricultural town in the northern Rift Valley, situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills.The town has an elevation of around 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) Its population was 162,174 as of 2019. Kitale town is the headquarter of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is reachable by air through Kitale Airport. The postal code for Kitale is 30200.
Meru is a town in eastern Kenya. It is the headquarters of the Meru County, and the seventh largest urban centre in the country. Meru urban center has a population of 80,191 residents (2019).
The Nandi are part of the Kalenjin, a Nilotic tribe living in East Africa. The Nandi ethnic group live with close association and relation with the Kipsigis tribe. They traditionally have lived and still form the majority in the highland areas of the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya, in what is today Nandi County. They speak the Nandi dialect of the Kalenjin language.
Nandi County is a county in Kenya in the North Rift, occupying an area of 2,884.4 square kilometres. Its capital, Kapsabet, is the largest town in the county while other towns include Mosoriot, Tinderet, Kobujoi, Kaiboi, Kabiyet and Nandi Hills. According to a 2019 census, the county has a population of 885,711, made up of a number of Kenyan communities, the majority of whom belong to the native tribe called Nandi.
Mara Serena Airport is an airstrip in Masai Mara, Kenya.
Nanyuki Airfield is an airport in Nanyuki, Kenya.
Koitalel arap Samoei was an Orkoiyot who led the Nandi people from 1890 until his assassination in 1905. The Orkoiyot occupied a sacred and special role within the Nandi and Kipsigis people of Kenya. He held the dual roles of chief spiritual and military leader, and had the authority to make decisions regarding security matters particularly the waging of war and negotiating for peace. Koitalel was the supreme chief of the Nandi people of Kenya. He led the Nandi resistance against British colonial rule.
Sotik Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya established for the 1997 elections. It is one of five constituencies in Bomet County. Sotik has one major river, River Kipsonoi. Sotik is also a hilly place with the main crops being grown are tea and maize. The Nairobi Kisii highway passes through Sotik. Recently, many developments have occurred; Sotik Market was put up by the former governor Hon Isaac Ruto, since then infrastructure has been improving. Sotik is also a religious center with over 10 churches set up in the area, e.g., Bethel AGC, St Joseph's Sotik catholic church and Gustavo D' Kerich chapel.
The Tachoni is one of the tribes that occupy the western part of Kenya,its known for its gallant defense of the Chetambe in 1895 when resisting British rule. Tachoni people were masters at building forts such as Chetambe, Lumboka, and Kiliboti. It was their defiance of colonialism that led to the colonial government putting the entire region occupied by the Tachoni under administration of paramount chiefs drawn from Bunyala and Wanga communities. Sharing land with the Abanyala, the Kabras, Nandi, and Bukusu tribe. They live mainly in Webuye, Chetambe Hills, Ndivisi Matete sub-county-Lwandeti, Maturu, Mayoyo, Lukhokho, Kiliboti, Kivaywa, Chepsai, and Lugari sub-county in Kakamega County. Most Tachoni clans living in Bungoma speak the ' Olutachoni dialect which is a hybrid of the luhyia language of the luhyia people. Since they lost their original dialect during the divide and rule system used by the whites to scatter them for being resistants to their colonialism, they had to find a way to interact with their new neighbors and thats why they're subsequently mistaken as Bukusus. They spread from Kakamega county to Trans-Nzoia County, webuye especially around Kitale, Tambach in Iten Nandi in areas like kabiyet and kapsisiwa, kericho and to Uasin Gishu County near Turbo, Eldoret.
Among the Tachoni clans are Abachikha -further divided into Abakobolo, Abamuongo, Abachambai,Abamakhanga, Abacharia, and Abakabini, Abamarakalu, Abangachi -who are further divided into: Abawaila, Abakhumaya and Abawele, Abasang'alo, Abasamo, Abayumbu, Abaluu, Abarefu,Abanyangali, Abamuchembi, Abamakhuli, Abasioya, Abaabichu,Abacheo, Abamachina,Abaengele, Abamutama, Abakafusi, Abasonge, Abasaniaka, Abaabiya also known as Abakatumi, Abakubwayi,Abakamutebi, Abakamukong, Abamweya, Abalukulu,Abawande, Abatukiika, Abachimuluku. Note that the morpheme 'aba' means 'people'.
Narok Airport is an airport in Narok, Kenya.
Naivasha Airport is an airport in Naivasha, Kenya.
Kericho Airport is an airport in Kenya.
The Nandi Resistance was a military conflict that took place in present-day Kenya between 1890 and 1906. It involved members of the Kalenjin ethnic group, mainly from the Nandi section, and the British colonial administration. The close of the 19th century, a time referred to as the "pacification period" by Matson, saw a number of local populations that resisted British colonial rule. Of these, the Nandi resistance would stand out for being the longest and most tenacious.
Koitaleel Samoei University College is a planned university in Nandi County, Kenya, due to open in 2015.
The County Government of Nandi is one of the county governments of the 47 counties of Kenya as established by the Constitution of Kenya enacted in 2010.The county government is led by the County Governor, his deputy and 10 County Executive Committee members as provided for in the Constitution of Kenya. The first County Governor of Nandi County was Dr.Cleophas Lagat and the first Deputy Governor was Dominic Chepyagan. The Second Governor is H.E Honourable Stephen Kipyego Sang and The Second Deputy Governor is H.E Honourable Yulita Chebotip Mitei. The Constitution of Kenya also provides for legislative house for each county. For the period between March 4, 2014 and the date of the next General election in Kenya, the Nandi County Assembly shall have a Speaker, representatives of the 30 wards of Nandi County and other nominated members representing women, the youth and the disabled members of the society as provided for in the Constitution of Kenya.
Kwanza is a town in Trans-Nzoia County in western Kenya, close to the international border with Uganda. It is the headquarters of Kwanza Ward, one of the constituent wards in Kwanza Constituency.
Barsirian Arap Manyei was the last widely recognized Nandi Orkoiyot and Kenya's longest serving political detainee.