Baringo County

Baringo County is one of the 47 Counties of Kenya. It is located in the former Rift Valley Province. Its headquarters and largest town is Kabarnet. The county is home to Lake Baringo.

Baringo County
County
Sunset over Lake Baringo, Baringo County, Kenya
Flag
Coat of arms
Location in Kenya
Country Kenya
Formed4 March 2013
CapitalKabarnet
Government
 • GovernorStanley Kiptis
Area
 • Total11,075.3 km2 (4,276.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2019 census)
 • Total666,763
 • Density60/km2 (160/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
Websitebaringo.go.ke

Geographical location

Baringo bounded by Turkana County and West Pokot County to the North, Samburu County and Laikipia County to the East, Nakuru County and Kericho County to the South, Uasin Gishu County to the South West and Elgeyo Marakwet County to the West. It covers an area of 8,655 km2. Baringo County lies between Latitudes 00 degrees 13" South and 1 degree 40" north and Longitudes 35 degrees 36" and 36" degrees 30" East.[1]

Administrative and Political Units

Baringo has six administrative sub-counties

  1. Baringo Central
  2. Tiaty
  3. Baringo North
  4. Eldama Ravine
  5. Baringo South
  6. Mogotio
  • Eldama Ravine and Mogotio sub counties combined was formerly Koibatek District*

Administrative and Electoral Units in Baringo County

Baringo county has a total of thirty electoral wards and one hundred and sixteen electoral wards.[2] The electoral wards is run by an elected member of county assemby where-areas location is led by Chief appointed.

Sub-County Area KM sq Electoral Wards Locations
Baringo South 1,678 4 17
Mogotio 1,315 3 24
Eldama Ravine 1,003 6 16
Baringo Central 800 5 21
Baringo North 1,704 5 14
Tiaty 4,517 7 24
Total 11,015 30 116

Source[3][4][5]

Demographics

The county has a population of 666,763 (2019 census) and an area of 10,976.4 km2 (4,238.0 sq mi).[6]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1979 203,792—    
1989 347,990+70.8%
1999 403,141+15.8%
2009 555,561+37.8%
2019 666,763+20.0%
source:[7]

Distribution of Population by Sex and Sub-County
Subcounty Male Female Intersex Total
1 Baringo Central 48,120 48,829 2 96,951
2 Baringo North 52,369 52,500 2 104,871
3 East Pokot 40,462 39,459 2 79,923
4 Eldama Ravine 65,295 64,238 2 129,535
5 Baringo South 45,706 45,246 3 90,955
6 Mogotio 47,014 45,088 2 91,104
7 Tiaty East 38,356 35,068 - 91,104
TOTAL 336,322 330,428 13 666,673

Source[8][3]

Religion and ethnicities
Red Cross team at work in East Pokot

The county is occupied by the Tugens, Njemps, Lembus, Torois, Pokots, Turkanas, Kikuyus, Numbians,and others. Christianity is the most practiced religion in the county. Traditionally, Baringo people believed in a god Asis, who is represented by the sun; however, currently, most individuals in the county believe in Christianity.[9] The well-known Christian denominations within Baringo County include the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), African Inland Church (AIC), full gospel churches of kenya and Roman Catholic.[9]

County government

The County Governor is Stanley Kiptis and is deputized by Jacob Kurui Chepkwony. The Senator is Gideon Moi while the County Women is Gladwell Tungo. The County Executive Committee consists of the following:

CEC MemberDocket
Mrs. Scola Jepkesei KimeliyIndustrialization, Commerce Tourism and Enterprise Development
Mrs. Lilian SadallaLand, Housing and Urban Planning
Mr. Edwin RiamanguraYouth, Gender, Labour and Social Services
Mr. Enock Kiplagat KestonWater and Irrigation
Ms. Caroline LentupuruEnvironment and Natural Resources
Mr. Philemon RonoTransport and Infrastructure
Mrs. Emily KibetEducation
Mr. Lukah RotichAgriculture, Livestock and Fisheries

Economics

The economy of the county is mainly agro-based. The main food crops grown are maize, pigeon peas, beans, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, sorghum, cassava and finger millet while the cash crops are coffee, cotton, macadamia and pyrethrum.[10] Livestock products include honey, beef, mutton as well as hides and skins. However, little value addition is done to these products.

Urbanization

Major urban centres in the county are Kabarnet, Eldama Ravine, Marigat, Mogotio, Kabartonjo and Chemolingot.

Tourism and Wildlife

Major attractions include:[11]

  • Lake Bogoria and Kapedo Hotsprings
  • Lake Bogoria Game Reserve is home to rare kudus, antelopes, zebras, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, mongoose, monkeys, baboons and jackals. At the shores of Lake Bogoria are more than two millions lesser flamingoes and 350 bird species total.
  • Lake Baringo
  • Lake Baringo Snake Park has many snake species such as the black mamba, puff adder, boomslang and spitting cobra, monitor lizards, crocodiles and tortoises.
  • Lake Kamnarok
  • Kabarnet National Museum and Kipsaraman Community Museum
  • Ruko Conservancy
  • Cheploch Gorge

Major tourist hotels in the county are:

  • Sunmaya Resort and World Trail Camps, Ainobmoi
  • Lake Bogoria Hotel and Spa Resort
  • Kabarnet Hotel, Kabarnet
  • Sinkoro Hotel Ltd, Kabarnet
  • Soi Safari Lodge
  • Sportsline Hotel, Kabarnet
  • Taidy's Restaurant, Eldama Ravine
  • Kibelion Hotel, Emining

Education

Kabarnet town hosts a number of university campuses including those of Baringo University, Mount Kenya University, Egerton University, and Kisii University.

Secondary schools include Kabarnet High School,solian girls, Baringo High School, Kapropita High School, and Kituro High School, Tabagon Girls, Pemwai Girls, Tenges Boys among others

There are six hundred and eighty seven primary schools, out of this 601 are public and 86 are private schools.[2] In Secondary school category they are a total of one hundred and fifty nine (159) schools; one hundred and forty seven being public secondary schools and twelve being private public secondary schools.[12]

Health

Kabarnet County Referral Hospital is the largest and best public hospital in the county. There are a total of 172 health facilities; seven level four, 25 level three and 140 level 2 centres.[13]

Transport and infrastructure

The county headquarters is linked to Nakuru and Eldoret by class C roads which fall under the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA).

In January 2016, Fly-SAX began twice-weekly flights between Lake Baringo Airport and Nairobi–Wilson, becoming the first airline to serve the airport.[14][2]

There are 339 km bitumen, 2141 murram and 995 km earth roads in the county.[15][16] As at 2014 a total of 9 postal offices were spread across the county with letter boxes of 2950 installed, 2510 rented and 440 vacant.[17]

Constituencies

The county has six constituencies: Baringo Central, Baringo South, Baringo North, Eldama Ravine, Mogotio, and Tiaty.

Villages and settlements

See also

http://www.kenyacountyguide.co.ke/baringo-county-030/

http://baringo.go.ke/

https://www.education.go.ke/

References
  1. "Baringo County Government - Home". www.baringo.go.ke. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2015). County Statistical Abstract Baringo County. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
  3. "Publications". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. "Baringo County Government - Who We Are". www.baringo.go.ke. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  5. interior_admin. "Home". interior.go.ke. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  6. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2019). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
  7. Kenya: Administrative Division population statistics
  8. Munene, Evans (4 November 2019). "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Results". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. "About Baringo County in Kenya". www.kenya-information-guide.com. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  10. "Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries". www.baringo.go.ke. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  11. "Industrialization, Commerce, Tourism & Enterprise Development". www.baringo.go.ke. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  12. "Home". www.education.go.ke. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  13. "Baringo County Government - Health Services". baringo.go.ke. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  14. "Fly SAX starts flights to Lake Baringo". African Aerospace. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  15. "Home". www.kerra.go.ke. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  16. "Baringo Region". www.kerra.go.ke. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  17. "Postal Corporation of Kenya". www.posta.co.ke. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.