Kirinyaga County

Kirinyaga County is a county in the former Central Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kutus and its largest town is Wanguru.[2] In 2019, the county had a population of 610,411[1] and an area of 1,478.1 km². The county is bordered to the east and south by Embu County, to the south by a tiny part of Machakos County, to the southwest by Murang'a County and to the northwest by Nyeri County.

Kirinyaga County
County
Flag
Coat of arms
Location in Kenya
Country Kenya
Formed4 March 2013 (2013-03-04)
CapitalKutus
Government
 • GovernorAnne Waiguru
Area
 • Total1,478.1 km2 (570.7 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total610,411 [1]
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
WebsiteKirinyaga County Government Website

Kirinyaga county lies between 1158 and 5199 metres above sea level; its highest point is the summit of Mount Kenya.[3]

Rice threshing in Mwea

History

Kirinyaga District was created in 1963 out of the western part of Embu District.[2] Kerugoya town was the district headquarters. The district commissioner was based in this town. In 2007, Kirinyaga District was divided into four new districts:

  • Kirinyaga Central with its administrative centre at Kerugoya
  • Kirinyaga East with its administrative centre at Kianyaga
  • Kirinyaga South with its administrative centre at Wanguru
  • Kirinyaga West with its administrative centre at Baricho.

Administration

Since April 2013, the County Government of Kirinyaga administers all of Kirinyaga County. Formerly, The County Council of Kirinyaga administered all of Kirinyaga County, except the area that was administered by the Municipal Council of Kerugoya /Kutus and the Town council of Sagana-Kagio.[2]

In April 2020, attempts by Deputy President William Ruto's allies to impeach Kiriyaga Governor Anne Waiguru as part of a wider Jubilee Party confrontation between Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta were reported by Africa Confidential.[4]

Subdivisions

Kirinyaga District is divided as follows:

Local authorities (councils)
Authority Type Population* Urban pop.*
Kerugoya/KutusMunicipality39,44114,056
Sagana/KagioTown22,4753,031
KirinyagaCounty395,18913,103
Total-457,10530,190
* 1999 census. Source:
Administrative divisions
Division Population* Urban pop.* Headquarters
Central74,06812,585Kerugoya
Gichugu121,7381,988Kianyaga
Mwea125,9627,625Wanguru
Ndia135,3372,960Baricho
Total457,10525,158-
* 1999 census. Sources: , ,

Electoral constituencies

The county has four constituencies:

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1979 291,431—    
1989 391,516+34.3%
1999 457,105+16.8%
2009 528,054+15.5%
2019 610,411+15.6%
source:[5]

Central Kenya Region

Urbanisation
Urbanisation in Central Kenya
County
Urbanisation in Central Kenya (Percent)
Kiambu County
60.8
Nyeri County
24.5
Nyandarua County
18.5
Muranga County
16.3
Kirinyaga County
15.8
 Kenya Average
32.3

Urbanisation by County in Central Kenya

Source: OpenDataKenya

Wealth/Poverty Level
Wealth/Poverty Level in Central Kenya
County
Poverty Level in Central Kenya (Percent)
Kirinyaga County
25.2
Muranga County
28.5
Kiambu County
28.9
Nyeri County
32.7
Nyandarua County
46.6
 Kenya Average
45.9

Poverty level by County

Source: OpenDataKenya Worldbank

Economy
Animal husbandry in Kirinyaga County

Like most counties in the Mt. Kenya region, agriculture is the main economic activity in Kirinyaga County. The county is best known for rice production at the Mwea Irrigation Scheme. Coffee and tea are also grown in the cooler areas of Ndia, Gichugu, and Kirinyaga Central constituencies. Other crops grown in the area include maize, beans, tomatoes, french beans and other horticultural crops. Due to scarcity of land and high population, most agriculture is done in small scale. There is also fishing at Sagana along the River Sagana. The business sector is also growing very fast. Thumbs to the Successive governments undertaking key infrastructural developments. This has seen the growth of Markets such as Kagio Market. Kagio market serves Murang'a and Kirinyaga counties traders. We welcome investors in real Estate development to venture in to our revamping economy. It also positive to note that in 2013 Kirinyaga was ranked the second Richest County.[6]

Villages and settlements

Gathambi Ndiriti Kandegwa Muragara

References
  1. "Kenya Census 2009 - Kenya (25K views)". Scribd.
  2. "County Council of Kirinyaga Website". Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  3. "Kirinyaga County Integrated Development plan 2018-2022". Maarifa Centre. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  4. Africa Confidential, "Duelling Impeachments," 16 April 2020.
  5. KENYA: Administrative Division population statistics
  6. "MWEA IRRIGATION SCHEME". NATIONAL IRRIGATION BOARD. NATIONAL IRRIGATION BOARD. Retrieved 18 May 2019.

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