Discover Kiambu County
Brief Overview of Kiambu County
The higher western region of the populous Kiambu County is covered, in almost equal parts, by farms and exotic forests, and a substantial part of the Aberdare Range which rises to near 4000 ms east of the Rift Valley. The A104 Mombasa-Uganda Road, traversing the elevated western half of Kiambu from Kikuyu to Kijabe, passes right through some of these forests. Its extreme western border skirts the steep fault-scarps of the Rift Valley Escarpment. The middle region of Kiambu carries a similar unveil of greenery where the invariable bright red soils support flourishing coffee, tea and dairy farms around Gachege, Githunguri, Limuru and Kikuyu. In the eastern region, as the land slopes to meet the lower-lying Machakos, is a marked diminution in greenery, with lesser hills, compared to the west. The eastern area is heavily settled and developed. A2 Cape to Cairo or Nairobi-Nanyuki Road travels across the eastern half from Githurai to Thika.
Although Kiambu County has no official National Parks and Reserves, there is adventure – in abundance. Almost one fifth of Kiambu County (or 476.3 km2) is under forest cover. The upper highland zone in the area around Lari, which is an extension of the Aberdare Reserve, is dominated by highly dissected ranges. It is very wet, steep and cragged, yet, it is a cardinal water catchment resource. In general, Kiambu County has the largest correlative tree cover in Kenya. The latest spot for adventure-makers within these forests is the swashbuckling 2.2 kms zip-line over the Kereita Forest, which takes venturesome trippers flying high at speeds of about 60 kph over the variegated forest canopy. The 6 zip-line tour guarantees a sure devil-may-care punch of adrenaline with unprecedented views of the magnificently cited Kereita Forest for the self-assured speed junkie.
The fact that Kiambu County is a peri-urban and dormitory region for Nairobi City means its infrastructure and its hospitality industry is go-great-guns and evolved. Kiambu Town, its capital, is surrounded by hilly Kikuyu farmland that are fast-growing under urbanization as Nairobi City expands and more people settle in neighbouring townships. Kiambu Town is seen as the future anchor to Nairobi that will, sooner or later, expend its limited space for growth. Currently, it has a 40% rural to 60% urban outlook. Likewise, Kiambu County is the entry point to Nairobi from every corner of Kenya, which it links to Nakuru, Kajiado, Machakos, Muranga and Nyeri Counties. For the golf-lovers, Kiambu County is famous as the golfing capital of Kenya, with no less than five acclaimed courses.
Salient Features of Kiambu County
- County Number 22
- Area – 2543 km2
- Altitude – 6500 ft
- Major Towns – Thika, Kiambu, Limuru
- Borders – Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Muranga, Nyandarua, Nakuru
Brief History of Kiambu County
Much of the history of Kiambu before 1880 has been obliterated by time and is largely a big unknown. It is thought that the Wandorobo Tribe were the utmost inhabitants of Kiambu County. By the turn of the 19th century a wave of Kikuyu settlements were impinging on the south-end of the forested Aberdare Range, acquiring land from the Wandorobo and settling in great numbers. The arrival of European settlers is also by no means clear, but, by 1890 missionaries and traders had began passing through and settling in Kiambu. The inflection point in its history came in 1902 with the inception of the Crown Lands Ordinance, shifting land rights to the newcomers. Still and all, despite the attention which has been paid to the Kikuyu history during the colonial period, the intimational early years of their interaction with the British have been largely grossed over. Beyond the obvious well-known history of land alienation, pacification through raids and unsuccessful resistance by the Kikuyu, the period before 1890s, to the surprise of many, was one of mutually beneficial trade rather than of unending confrontations, with particularly good relationships around the Fort Smith area
At Fort Smith, a pre-existing food trade between the Kikuyu food producers and passing Swahili caravans was rapidly expanded with the building of the Kenya-Uganda Railways. Perhaps the natives had an upper-hand in affairs at the time, or, it may be that, the transfer of administrative rights to the territory by the Imperial East African Company to the British Government in 1893 changed the holy-grail of the colonial government, upending the balance. What was certain is that by 1890 relations were standoffish, forcing the British to deploy limited military resources to Fort Smith. Henceforth the association became a mixture of collaboration and resistance. Those who lived along the Uganda route were unhappy about the British. They refused to supply grain to Fort Smith as well as to porters and traders along the road. The company officials were in the habit of raiding the countryside to force the native Agikuyu to supply food stuff such as grain and meat, so they send a military expedition to enforce obedience. And in 1892 the British send a punitive force which severely punished the local ruler, Waiyaki wa Hinga, who died at Kibwezi on his way to Mombasa Town for trial.
In the end, the company had to abandon Fort Smith. As all this was going on, the northern Kikuyu, who were not yet in effective contact with the British until 1900, awaited a similar destiny. Punitive expeditions were sent against various sections of the Agikuyu, who, although aware of the imminent war, were gravely unprepared. In 1902, one such expedition was sent against the Muruka section of the Agikuyu. In 1904, the Iriani of Nyeri were attacked, many people killed, and their livestock captured. The collaborators among the Agikuyu were people like Kinyanjui wa Gathirimu, a famous porter later made headman in Dagoretti. Another collaborator, Karuri wa Gakuru, in the next-door district of Muranga, like Kinyanjui, started as a porter. With the help of John Boyes, a British trader, he helped to pacify the resisting Agikuyu of Muranga and Nyeri. Wang’ombe wa Ihura was another collaborator whose rise to prominence was his linkage with John Boyes. Land alienation in Kiambu, and elsewhere in Kenya, created a keen sense of loss among the locals and attempts by the government to remedy this, such as in the Kenya Land Commission of the 1930s, did very little to meet the problem of growing land shortage and the many issues to land ownership since.
Continue Reading... 54 Attractions in Kiambu County, arranged as one would visit these - northwest, south, east then north - with aid of in-depth narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart: Kinale Forest, Kereita Forest, Gatamaiyu Camp, Great Rift Valley Viewpoint, St. Mary of the Angel Church (Mai Mahiu Travellers Church), Limuru Gardens, Buxton Tunnel, Thayu Farm, Limuru Golf Club, Lakehouse Tigoni, Brackenhurst, Brown's Cheese, All Saints Limuru, Waterfalls in Tigoni, Kiambethu Farm, Three Rivers Escapade, Kawamwaki Farm, Kentmere Club, Kiambu Golf Club, Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads, Airports, Climate and National Monuments in Kiambu County
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