Nyandarua County
Nyandarua County | |
|---|---|
 Aberdare Ranges in Nyandarua County | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location in Kenya | |
| Country |  Kenya |
| Formed | March 4th 2013 |
| Capital | Ol Kalou |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Francis Kimemia |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3,107.7 km2 (1,199.9 sq mi) |
| Population (2019) | |
| • Total | 638,289 [1] |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
| Website | nyandarua.go.ke |
Nyandarua County is a County in the former Central Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Ol Kalou.[2] Formerly the capital was Nyahururu, which is now part of the Laikipia County. Nyandarua County has population of 596,268 [1] and an area of 3,304 km2.[3] The county is located on the northwestern part of the old Central Province, and contains the Aberdare Ranges.
The county was split into two in 2007: and . However, with the promulgation in 2010 of new constitution, these have been re-organised as sub counties of Nyandarua County . Daniel Waithaka was elected the first governor of the County 2013 General Election and Francis Kimemia seconds him in August 2017 elections.
Demographics[]
| Authority | Type | Population* | Urban pop.* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ol Kalou | Town | 47,795 | 15,186 |
| Nyandarua | County | 432,107 | 21,868 |
| Total | - | 479,902 | 37,054 |
| * 1999 census. Source:[4] | |||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 233,302 | — |
| 1989 | 345,420 | +48.1% |
| 1999 | 479,902 | +38.9% |
| 2009 | 596,268 | +24.2% |
| 2019 | 638,289 | +7.0% |
| source:[5] | ||
Administrative divisions[]
| Sub-County | Population* | Urban pop.* | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kipipiri | 78,893 | 208 | Kipipiri |
| Ndaragwa | 85,245 | 3,594 | Ndaragwa |
| North Kinangop | 67,356 | 4,080 | |
| Ol Joro Orok | 65,229 | 0 | Ol Joro Orok |
| Ol Kalou | 98,806 | 3,881 | Ol Kalou |
| South Kinangop | 84,373 | 3,099 | Njabini |
| Total | 479,902 | 14,871 | - |
| * 1999 census. Sources:,[6][7] | |||
Constituencies[]
The county has five constituencies and 25 wards
| Constituency | Area km2 | Popn census 2009 | No of Wards | Wards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinangop Constituency | 935 | 192,379 | 8 | Engineer, Gathara, North Kinangop, Murungaru, Njabini/Kibiru, Nyakio, Magumu, Githabai |
| Kipipiri Constituency | 544 | 95,338 | 4 | Wanjohi, Kipipiri, Geta, Githioro |
| Ol Kalou Constituency | 536 | 120,282 | 5 | Karau, Kanjuire Ridge, Milangine, Kaimbaga, Rurii |
| Ol Jorok Constituency | 439 | 95,643 | 4 | Gathanji, Gatimu, Weru, Charagita |
| Ndaragwa Constituency | 655 | 92,626 | 4 | Leshau/Pondo, Kiriita, Central, Shamata |
| Total | 3,108 | 596,268 | 25 |
Health[]
Nyandarua is serviced by several government hospitals; Nyahururu, Ngano. district hospital, Engineer District Hospital. Mission hospital funded by church and NGO, Dispensary i.e.Mirangine Health Centre and numbers of private hospital.
County hospitals receive patients from all over the county and in case of referral refer them to Nakuru or Nyeri County Referral hospital and then to Kenyatta National Hospital
Representatives[]
The county is represented by 25 elected ward representatives 5 MPs, a Women representative, a Senator and a Governor.[8]
In 2013 presidential election the county voters voted for Uhuru Kenyatta with 237,975 a 99% of valid votes.
Legislature[]
Current Members of parliament from constituencies in the county are;
| Constituency | Formation | MP Name | Political Party | Vote For | Total Vote cast | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinangop | 1988 | HON KWENYA | JP | 57,895 | 80,001 | |
| Kipipiri | 1988 | HON KIMUNYA | JP | 18,972 | 36,887 | |
| Ol Kalou | 1997 | HON Kiaraho | JP | 22,201 | 46,120 | |
| Ol Joro Orok | 2013 | Michael Muchira Mwangi | JP | 23,748 | 36,445 | |
| Ndaragwa | 1988 | JEREMIAH KIONI | JP | 25,171 | 38,281 | |
| Nyandarua County | 2013 | HON Faith Gitau | JP | 158,486 | 239,661 | Women Representatives |
| Nyandarua County | 2013 | [HON GITHIOMI | JP | 211,315 | 239,074 | Senator |
Governor[]
There were three candidates for governorship during 2013 election[9]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Waithaka Mwangi | TNA | 162,418 | Winner |
| David Mwaniki Ngugi | GNU | 19,561 | |
| Peter Mwangi Gathimba | NARC | 55,896 | |
| Rejected Votes | 2,313 | ||
| Total Cast Votes | 240,188 |
Education[]
Children in Nyandarua can access school with ease. Schools are normally situated a walking distance mostly of less than 3 km (for primary school and high school) with a large number of public and private schools. For tertiary education they are a number of colleges and polytechnic but no university.
Education levels vary drastically with 61% of the population having reached primary school, 19% secondary school and only 2% have a tertiary education level.[10]
One of pioneer school is Nyandarua high School which was opened 29 March 1965 with 71 students.[11] Currently they are other major school among others; Kangui high School, Karima Girls, Shamata Girls, Wanjohi Girls, Magumu, Mukoe, Kagondo, Kihingo, Waka Junior, Njabini, Nyahururu Boys. There has been no University in Nyandarua, until Nyandarua Institute was upgraded to a university college under Dedan Kimathi University of Science & Technology. There are some Technical Institutions like Leshau Polytechnic in Ndaragwa Constituency, at Gordon Centre (Next to Kihingo Catholic Church) - Mutanga Parish. More Tertiary institution are needed.
Investment challenges[]
 | This section does not cite any sources. (July 2017) |
Nyandarua County is a productive area for agriculture, manufacturing and processing. There are a number of challenges including lack of a good road network and adequate distribution of electricity and water.
Interested investors both local and in the diaspora can invest in agriculture, manufacturing, processing and housing.
Sport[]
Nyandarua is known for athletics being home to John Ngugi and Samuel Wanjiru. It is also home to Benson Kariuki and Bernard Ndung'u, who are Kenya Bowling Federation champions both in Africa and globally.
Economy[]
The main economic activity in Nyandarua is farming (crop cultivation and dairy farming). In late 1990s Nyandarua was a leading producer of pyrethrum, however the parastatal that was given the role of purchasing, processing and marketing the crop collapsed because of poor management and corruption, severely undermining the livelihood of many farmers. Nyandarua county is well known as a giant in potato farming. However, there has been a number of challenges that are associated with farming such as fluctuation of the market, poor roads, and crop diseases. Aberdare forest which covers a larger area of the country, attract local and international tourist who make a positive income to the local society. The time is now ripe for the people of Nyandarua to initiate new ways of Agribusiness. Constituencies like Ndaragwa should initiate Agribusiness that does well in semi arid areas like mangoes, millet, cassava, pumpkins and other such crops. A processing factory should be established so that the farmers would get maximum returns.
Central Kenya Region[]
Urbanisation[]
| County | Urbanisation in Central Kenya (Percent)
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiambu County | 60.8
| ||||||||
| Nyeri County | 34.7
| ||||||||
| Nyandarua County | 8.9
| ||||||||
| Muranga County | 36.3
| ||||||||
| Kirinyaga County | 25.8
| ||||||||
| Kenya Average
|
32.3
| ||||||||
|
Urbanisation by County in Central Kenya | |||||||||
Wealth and poverty level[]
| County | Poverty Level in Central Kenya (Percent)
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirinyaga County | 34.2
| ||||||||
| Muranga County | 28.5
| ||||||||
| Kiambu County | 19.9
| ||||||||
| Nyeri County | 26.3
| ||||||||
| Nyandarua County | 76.6
| ||||||||
| Kenya Average
|
45.9
| ||||||||
|
Poverty level by County | |||||||||
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Kenya Census 2009". Scribd.com. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ "Kenya | U.S. Agency for International Development" (PDF). Kenya.usaid.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ "Kenya Districts". Statoids.com. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ (PDF) http://treasury.go.ke/cbs.go.ke/pdf/authority.pdf. Retrieved 2 January 2007. Missing or empty
|title=(help)[dead link] - ^ KENYA: Administrative Division population statistics
- ^ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20070616215050/http://www.cck.go.ke/html/final_annex1_cover_status.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2013. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ^ [1] Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ [3] Archived 5 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Nyandarua County Profile Data". HURUmap. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Nyandarua High School". Somo.co.ke. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ "County Urbanization: Nairobi | Open Kenya | Transparent Africa". Kenya.socrata.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ "Poverty Rate, by District | Open Kenya | Transparent Africa". Kenya.socrata.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ Al, Edward (30 September 2013). "Kenya | Data". Data.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
External links[]
- Nyandarua County
- Counties of Kenya