Kakamega County

Coordinates: 0°17′00″N 34°45′00″E / 0.283333°N 34.75°E / 0.283333; 34.75
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Not to be confused with Kakamega.

Kakamega County
County
Flag of Kakamega County
Flag
Location in Kenya
Location in Kenya
Country Kenya
Formed4 March 2013
CapitalKakamega
Government
 • GovernorFernandes Barasa
Area
 • Total3,033.8 km2 (1,171.4 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total1,867,579[1]
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
Websitekakamega.go.ke

Kakamega County is a county in the former Western Province of Kenya. It borders Vihiga County to the South, Siaya County to the West, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties to the North and Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties to the East. Its capital and largest town is Kakamega. The county has a population of 1,867,579 and an area of 3,033.8 km2.

Physical and topical features[edit]

Kakamega County has an altitude ranging from 1,240 metres to 2,000 metres above sea level. The southern part of the county is hilly and made of granites which raises it 1950m above sea level. The Nandi Escarpment is a key feature on the eastern border of the county with steep cliffs rising from 1700m to 2000m. The county is also endowed with a number of hills like Misango, Imanga, Eregi, Butieri, Sikhokhochole, Mawe Tatu, Lirhanda, Kiming’ini hills among others.[2][3]

Further information: Malava forest

Climatic conditions[edit]

Rainfall is uniformly distributed throughout the year with March and July receiving highest whereas December and February the least.

The county has annual rainfall that range from 1280.1 mm to 2214.1 mm per year. The temperature range is 18 °C to 29 °C with the hottest months being are January, February, March and on the others side July and August being the coldest.[2][4]

Demographics[edit]

As per 2019 census Kakamega county had a total population of 1,867,579 people, of which 897,133 are males, 970,406 being females and 40 intersex persons. There are 433,207 households with an average size of 4.3 persons per household and a population density of 618 people per square kilometre.

Distribution of Population by Sex and Sub-County
Sub-county Male Female Intersex Total
Butere 73,634 80,463 3 154,100
Kakamega Central 92,774 95,432 6 188,212
Kakamega East 80,553 86,784 4 167,641
Kakamega North 115,511 122,814 5 238,330
Kakamega South 53219 58,524 111,743
Khwisero 53,670 59,803 3 113,476
Likuyani 73,710 78,341 4 152,055
Lugari 59,135 63,593 122,728
Matete 31,749 34,423 66,172
Matungu 78,793 88,143 4 166,940
Mumias East 55,895 60,953 3 116,851
Mumias West 54,915 60,438 1 115,354
Navakholo 73,275 80,695 7 153,977
Total 897,133 970,406 40 1,867,579

Religion[edit]

Religion in Kakamega County [5]

Religion (2019 Census) Number
Catholicism 306,477
Protestant 598,611
Evangelical Churches 566,271
African Instituted Churches 216,915
Orthodox 6,837
Other Christian 46,594
Islam 88,412
Hindu 578
Traditionists 3,002
Other 17,491
No ReligionAtheists 8,575
Don't Know 1,277
Not Stated 292

Administrative and political units[edit]

Administrative units[edit]

Administration wise, the county is divided into twelve sub counties, sixty county assembly wards, eighty three locations, two hundred and fifty sub-locations, one hundred and eighty seven Village Units and four hundred Community Administrative Areas. Politically, it comprises twelve constituencies and sixty wards.[6][7]

Constituencies[edit]

The county has twelve constituencies (2013):[6]

The Mumias Constituency was divided into Mumias West and Mumias East.

Political leadership[edit]

The governor is Fernandes Barasa and is deputised by Ayub Savula.[8][9] He has been governor since 2022, following the end of Wycliffe Oparanya's second and final term in office. Boni Khalwale is the senator and joined office in 2022 after defeating Brian Lishenga.[10]Elsie Busihile Muhanda is the women representative and joined the office in 2017 after defeating Rachel Amamo who was the first elected women representative 2013–2017.[11][12]

For Kakamega County, the County Executive Committee comprises:-

County Executive Committee
Number
The Governor 1
The Deputy Governor 1
The County Secretary 1
The CEC Members 10
Total 13

Source[13]

Education[edit]

There are 1631 ECD centres 1136 primary schools and 408 secondary schools. The county has also 4 teachers training colleges, 51 Youth Polytechnics, 3 technical training institutes, 6 university campuses and 1 university as at 2014.[14]

Education Institutions in Kakamega County 2014
Category Public Private Total Enrolment
ECD Centres 876 855 1631 105,426
Primary schools 883 253 1136 557,107
Secondary schools 408 408 116,732
Youth Polytechnics 47 4 51
Technical Training Institutes 3 0 2381
University Campuses 5 1 6 10,657
Universities 1 0 1
Adult Education Centres 195 0 195 16,542

Source[15][16]

Health[edit]

Kakamega has one county referral hospital (Kakamega County General Teaching & Referral Hospital), 12 sub-county hospitals, 47 health centres, 123 dispensaries and 44 clinics. Both private and public health facilities hold a total bed capacity of 3,949 with public sector having 2,338 beds and private hospitals 197 beds and mission/NGO is 1,414 beds capacity.[2][15]

HIV prevalence in Kakamega County is 4.0% lower than the national one that is at 5.9%.[17]

Health Facilities by Ownership[15][18]
Government *FBO Private NGO TOTAL
Hospitals 12 4 0 0 16
Health centres 38 9 0 0 9
Dispensaries 95 10 18 0 123
Clinics 0 1 43 0 43
  • FBO – Faith Based Organizations

Trade and commerce[edit]

There are 62 trading centres, 11,083 retail traders, 21 supermarkets, 203 wholesale traders and 1180 registered hotels.

Agriculture[edit]

Agriculture is the backbone of the county with it producing over 65 per cent of the total earnings.

There are two main categories of crops food crops and industrial crops and the last category being horticulture. Food crops include maize, sorghum, finger millet, rice, beans, peas, grams, cassava, potatoes, and arrowroots.[15]

Transport and communication[edit]

The county is covered by 4,451.3 km of road network. of this 1,308.90 km is covered by earth surface, 2,792.25 is covered by gravel, 939.32 km is murram surface and 307.5 km is covered by bitumen.[2]

There are 14 Post Offices with 8,400 installed letter boxes, 6,969 rented letter boxes and 1,431 vacant letter boxes.[15]

Services and urbanisation[edit]

Stats for Kakamega County
County
Stats for the County (Per cent)
Urbanisation
15.2
Literacy
72.7
Attending School (15-18 Yrs)
76.3
Paved Roads
4.9
Good Roads
54.1
Electricity Access
5.6
Poverty Rate
53

Stats for the County

Source: USAid Kenya

Villages and settlements[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Kenya Census 2009". Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "COUNTY INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLAN (CIDP) 2018-2022 – County Government of Kakamega". Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Kakamega County". TurnUp Kenya. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Kakamega climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Kakamega weather averages – Climate-Data.org". en.climate-data.org. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. ^ "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics" (PDF). Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b "The Report of the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIBRC): Delimitation of Constituencies and Recommendations on Local Authority Electoral Units and Administrative Boundaries for Districts and Other Units" (PDF). IEBC. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  7. ^ interior_admin. "Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government". interior.go.ke. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Governors & Deputy Governors". cog.go.ke. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Wycliffe Oparanya". Mzalendo. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Members of the Senate | The Kenyan Parliament Website". parliament.go.ke. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Women Representatives | KEWOPA KENYA". Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Elsie Busihile Muhanda". Mzalendo. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  13. ^ "179. County executive committees – Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC)". klrc.go.ke. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Ministry of Education, Science & Technology – County Government of Kakamega". Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Kakamega County Statistical Abstract". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Ministry of Education". education.go.ke. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Kakamega County Report on the HIV Implementing Partners Online Reporting Systems" (PDF). NACC. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Ministry of Health Services – County Government of Kakamega". Retrieved 28 May 2020.

0°17′00″N 34°45′00″E / 0.283333°N 34.75°E / 0.283333; 34.75

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