Machakos County

Machakos County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, which came into being because of the devolved system of governance occasioned by the 2010 constitution of Kenya. The country's first administrative headquarters are in Machakos Town, which is the largest town in the county. The county had a population of 1,421,932 as of 2019. The county borders Nairobi and Kiambu counties to the west, Embu to the north, Kitui to the east, Makueni to the south, Kajiado to the south west, and Muranga and Kirinyaga to the north west.

Not to be confused with Machakos or Governor of Machakos.

Machakos County
Masaku
County
Road in Machakos County showing the landscape
Road in Machakos County showing the landscape
Flag of Machakos County
Flag
Nickname: 
Masaku
Motto: 
"the Place to be"
Location in Kenya
Location in Kenya
Coordinates: 01°14′S 37°23′E
Country Kenya
Formed4 March 2013
CapitalMachakos
Government
 • GovernorWavinya Ndeti
 • SpeakerAnn Kiusya
 • SenatorAgnes Kavindu Muthama
 • Women RepresentativeJoyce kamene
Area
 • County6,043 km2 (2,333 sq mi)
Elevation
1,138 m (3,734 ft)
Population
 (2019)
 • County1,421,932
 • Density240/km2 (610/sq mi)
 • Metro
150,041
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3
Website

Religion

Religion in Kwale County [1]

Religion (2019 Census) Number
Catholicismy500,456
Protestant582,456
Evangelical Churches217,122
African instituted Churches55,175
Orthodox2,405
Other Cristian23,935
Islam12,984
Hindu976
Traditionists987
Other6900
No ReligionAtheists9,384
Don't Know1,377
Not Stated166

Government
Machakos County Enforcement Vehicle

The Machakos County Government is composed of two arms, the County Executive and the County Assembly. County Executive is headed by a Governor. The office of the Governor of Machakos was created on 27 March 2013. Alfred Mutua, served as the inaugural holder of the office. following his election in 2012. He was re-elected in the 2017 general elections.[2] The Machakos County Assembly is headed by a Speaker elected by its members. The incumbent Speaker is Mrs. Florence Mwangangi.

Hon Wavinya Ndeti was in 2022 elected as the second governor of Machakos County, becoming the first female governor in the county and also among the 8 female governors that were historically elected in the 2022 elections, an historic rise from the 3 that were elected in the 2017 elections.

Office of the Governor is located at White House along Peoples Park road, Miwani area in Machakos town environs. The first Director of Administration and Special Programmes and White House Administrator was Dr. Dominic Musembi PhD.

Education

There are many primary schools in Machakos County, including Machakos Primary School, Kathiini primary School and Machakos Academy.

Machakos County has giant secondary schools such as Machakos School (boys), Machakos Girls' School, Mumbuni Boys' Secondary School, Mumbuni Girls' Secondary School, Masii Boys' Secondary School, Tala Girls' School, Matungulu Girls' High School, Mwala School,ST. Teresa Mwala Girls, Kitulu Day Secondary School and Kabaa High School (boys), which boasts of a castle which was left behind by Christian missionaries. This castle is now a museum.

Kwanthanze Secondary School, which is also found in Machakos County, is famous for its volleyball championship in the country.

Universities and colleges within Machakos County include Machakos University[3] Scott Christian University, South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU), St. Paul's University, Kenya Institute of Management, African Training Center for Research and Technology,[4] Century Park College, Machakos Institute of Technology, Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Machakos campus and Machakos Technical Training Institute for the Blind.

Climate

The local climate is semi-arid with hilly terrain and an altitude of 1000 to 2100 metres above sea level.

Tourist-related activities include camping, hiking safaris, ecotourism and cultural tourism, dance and music festivals.[2]

Economy

Subsistence agriculture is mostly practiced with maize and drought-resistant crops such as sorghum and millet being grown due to the area's semi-arid state. The county also plays host to the open air market concept with major market days where large amounts of produce are traded. Fruits, vegetables and other food stuffs like maize and beans are sold in these markets.[2]

Future

The county is banking on projects such as the Konza Technology City, a new Machakos City[5] and its proximity to Nairobi County to boost output in the economy.

Services
Stats for Machakos County
County
Stats for the county (per cent)
Literacy
88
Attending school (15-18 Yrs)
75.9
Paved roads
6.9
Good roads
26.9
Electricity access
17

Stats for the county

Source: USAid Kenya

Subdivisions
Local authorities (councils)
Authority Type Population* Urban pop.*
MachakosMunicipality144,10928,891
Mavoko (Athi River)Municipality48,26022,167
KangundoTown187,3899,122
MatuuTown44,9225,321
MasakuCounty481,9649,088
* 1999 census. Source:[6]
Administrative divisions
Division Population* Urban pop.* Headquarters
Kalama41,0000
Kangundo91,2383,786Kangundo
Kathiani95,0962,929Mitaboni
Machakos Central14327426,438Machakos
Masinga74,478654Masinga
Matungulu99,7314,734Tala
Mavoko48,93619,177Athi River
Mwala89,2112,708
Ndithini32,3580
Yathui65,567481Wamunyu
Yatta125,7554913Matuu
* 1999 census. Sources:,,[7][8]

The county has eight constituencies:

Nairobi Metro
Machakos County (yellow) within Nairobi Metro (green)

Machakos County is within Greater Nairobi which consists of 4 out of 47 counties in Kenya, but the area generates about 60% of the nation's wealth.[9][10] The counties are:

AreaCountyArea (km2)Population
Census 2019		Cities/towns/municipalities in the county
Core NairobiNairobi County694.94,397,073Nairobi
Northern MetroKiambu County2,449.22,417,735Kiambu, Thika, Limuru, Ruiru, Karuri, Kikuyu
Southern MetroKajiado County21,292.71,117,840Kajiado, Olkejuado, Bissil, Ngong, Kitengela, Kiserian, Ongata Rongai
Eastern MetroMachakos County5,952.91,421,932Kangundo-Tala, Machakos, Athi River
TotalsNairobi Metro30,389.79,354,580

Source: NairobiMetro/ Kenya Census

Statistics

Urbanisation
Urbanisation in Nairobi Metro
County
Urbanisation in Nairobi Metro (per cent)
Nairobi County
100
Kiambu County
60.8
Machakos County
52
Kajiado County
41.4
 Kenya average
32.3

Urbanisation by county within Nairobi Metro

Source: OpenDataKenya

Wealth/poverty Level
Wealth/poverty Level in Nairobi Metro
County
Poverty level in Nairobi Metro (per cent)
Kajiado County
11.6
Kiambu County
21.8
Nairobi County
22
Machakos County
59.6
 Kenya average
45.9

Poverty level by county

Source: OpenDataKenya Worldbank

Urbanisation
Urbanisation in South Eastern Kenya
County
Urbanisation in South Eastern Kenya (per cent)
Machakos County
52
Kitui County
13.8
Makueni County
11.8
 Kenya average
32.3

Urbanisation by county in South Eastern Kenya

Source: OpenDataKenya

Wealth/poverty Level
Wealth/poverty Level in South Eastern Kenya
County
Poverty Level in South Eastern Kenya (per cent)
Machakos County
59.6
Kitui County
63.1
Makueni County
64.1
 Kenya average
45.9

Poverty level by county

Source: OpenDataKenya Worldbank

See also

References
  1. "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.
  2. "Official Website". Machakos Government. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  3. Machakos University. "Contact Us". Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  4. "African Training Center for Research and Technology". Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  5. "Machakos City" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  7. Archived 16 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Archived 28 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine

1°30′S 37°15′E

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