Samburu County
Samburu County | |
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 Brick Construction in Samburu
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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 Location of Samburu County in Kenya
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| Coordinates: 1°10′N 36°40′E | |
| Country | Kenya |
| Formed | 4 March 2013 |
| Capital | Maralal |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Jonathan Lati lelelit |
| Area | |
| • Total | 20,182.5 km2 (7,792.5 sq mi) |
| Population
(2019)
| |
| • Total | 310,327 |
| • Density | 15/km2 (40/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
| Website | samburu |
Samburu County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya which covers an area of roughly 21,000 km2 (8,000 mi2) in northern Kenya where the Samburu, Turkana and many other tribes live. It stretches north from the Wuaso Ng'iro River to the south of Lake Turkana. According to the 2019 census, the county has a population of 310,327.
Within Samburu County are the towns of Maralal (capital and largest town), Baragoi, Archers Post, South Horr, Wamba, Lodosoit, and Kisima.
It also includes the Samburu National Reserve, Bisanadi National Reserve, and Buffalo Springs National Reserve, Mount Ng'iro, Ndoto Mountains, Mathews Range (Ol Doinyo Lenkiyo), Kirisia Hills, and Loroki Forest.
The main access road to Samburu County is the A4 road from Rumuruti-Maralal-Baragoi, which as of 2019 was being tarmaced from Rumuruti up to Maralal.
There is a town named Samburu in Kwale County also in Kenya, but it is not related to Samburu County or Samburu people.
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 76,908 | — |
| 1989 | 108,884 | +41.6% |
| 1999 | 143,547 | +31.8% |
| 2009 | 223,947 | +56.0% |
| 2019 | 310,327 | +38.6% |
| source: | ||
Religion
Religion in Samburu County
| Religion (2019 Census) | Number |
|---|---|
| Catholicismy | 176,566 |
| Protestant | 54,349 |
| Evangelical Churches | 18,339 |
| African instituted Churches | 4,313 |
| Orthodox | 207 |
| Other Cristian | 6,760 |
| Islam | 2,849 |
| Hindu | 71 |
| Traditionists | 30,433 |
| Other | 4,686 |
| No ReligionAtheists | 7,428 |
| Don't Know | 1,945 |
| Not Stated | 11 |
County subdivisions
The county has three constituencies: Samburu East, Samburu West, and Samburu North. The headquarters of Samburu Central is Maralal, Samburu North is Baragoi and headquarters for Samburu East is Wamba although there has been controversy about the headquarters of Samburu East. Some schools of thought proposed Archers Post, a rapidly growing town, while others proposed Wamba town a less rapidly growing town
| Authority | Type | Population* | Urban pop.* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maralal | Town | 24,612 | 16,281 |
| Samburu | County | 118,935 | 18,507 |
| Total | – | 143,547 | 34,788 |
| * 1999 census. Source: | |||
| Division | Population* | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Baragoi | 19,884 | Baragoi |
| Kirisia | 47,072 | Mararal |
| Lorroki | 25,571 | Suguta mar mar |
| Nyiro | 15,551 | |
| Wamba | 24,155 | Wamba |
| Waso | 10,314 | |
| Total | 143,547 | - |
| * 1999 census. Sources: | ||
Government
The Samburu County Government is headed by Governor Jonathan Lati Leleliit who won the Samburu county's gubernatorial race in the 2022 general elections under the United Democratic Alliance(UDA). He garnered 40,740 votes against Dr. Richard Lesiyampe of the Jubilee Party who got 26,834 votes, and Daniel Lekupe an independent candidate, who garnered 1,847 votes, coming in third, and Richard Leiyagu who came last with 771 votes. He succeeded the former governor, Moses Lenolkulal, who retired after two terms in office. A member of the national Jubilee party, Lenolkulal was the first governor following Kenya's devolution to county administrations.