West Pokot County

West Pokot County
County
Flag Coat of arms
Location in Kenya
Coordinates: 01.23333°N 035.1167°E / 01.23333; 035.1167
Country	Kenya
Formed	4 March 2013
Capital	Kapenguria
Government
• Governor	Simon Kachapin
Area
• Total	8,418.2 km^2 (3,250.3 sq mi)
Population  (2019)[1]
• Total	621,241
• Density	74/km^2 (190/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Website	westpokot.go.ke

West Pokot County is a county in Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kapenguria. The county covers an area of approximately 9,169.4 square kilometers and stretches a distance of 132 kilometers from north to south.^[2]

West Pokot County is bordered to the north by Turkana County, to the east by Baringo County, to the southeast by Elgeyo-Marakwet County, to the south by Trans Nzoia County and to the west by Uganda. According to the 2019 census, the county has a population of 621,241.^[1]

The county is home to Tegla Loroupe, one of the most famous Kenyan female runners, and the birthplace of Israeli Olympic marathon runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter.

Demographics

Pokot people are the main inhabitants of the county, and there is also a minority community of Sengwer.^[3]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1979	158,652	—
1989	225,449	+42.1%
1999	308,086	+36.7%
2009	512,690	+66.4%
2019	621,241	+21.2%
source:[4]

Religion

Religion in West Pokot County ^[5]

Religion (2019 Census)	Number
Catholicism	192,787
Protestant	232,950
Evangelical Churches	81.184
African instituted Churches	43,831
Orthodox	2,477
Other Cristian	14,202
Islam	2,619
Hindu	26
Traditionists	19,645
Other	9,723
No ReligionAtheists	18.104
Don't Know	1,213
Not Stated	106

Geography

Mount Mtelo is located in West Pokot County.

Constituencies

1. Kapenguria Constituency
2. Kacheliba Constituency
3. Pokot South Constituency
4. Sigor Constituency

County subdivisions

Kapenguria Bible Centre in Kapenguria Town.

Local authorities (councils)
Authority	Type	Population*	Urban pop.*
Kapenguria	Municipality	56,019	12,984
Chepareria	Town	8,212	901
Pokot	County	243,855	0
Total	-	308,086	13,885
* 1999 census. Source:[6]

Administrative divisions
Division	Population*	Urban pop.*	Headquarters
Alale	29,679	0
Chepareria	68,518	900	Chepareria
Chesegon	21,343	0
Kacheliba	20,151	0
Kapenguria	62,746	12,438	Kapenguria
Kasei	9,879	0
Kongelai	20,018	0	Kongelai
Lelan	32,931	0
Sigor	42,821	0	Sigor
Total	308,086	13,338	-
* 1999 census. Sources[7][8]

Economy

The West Pokot county economy is principally driven by livestock rearing and agriculture. Large numbers of cattle, sheep and goats are reared, with some of the breeds reared being Sahiwal Zebus, Galla goats and Merino sheep. In Pokot Central and North sub-counties, zebu indicine cattle have long been kept for meat production while in West Pokot and Pokot South sub-counties dairy breeds, primarily Ayrshire and Friesian, are increasingly kept for milk production.^[2]

Some of the main crops grown include maize, a staple ingredient grown mainly in West Pokot Sub-County, as well as finger millet, coffee, beans, onions, sweet potatoes, green grams, peas, mangoes, oranges, bananas, potatoes and pyrethrum.^[9] The latter two are mainly grown in South Pokot sub-county. Irrigation infrastructure has been developed by the National Irrigation Authority & the Kerio Valley Development Authority in Sigor across the permanent rivers; WeiWei and Muruny putting over 1000 acres in year long crop production without relying on rain.

Livestock

West Pokot County is known for livestock production with large numbers of cattle, sheep and goats being reared in the county. The sector faces significant challenges of banditry in the form of livestock theft.

In early 2022, the West Pokot government, in partnership with the European Union, established the Nasukuta Export Abattoir in Chepareria ward. The abattoir started at 60 per cent capacity utilization for cattle, sheep and goats, and was anticipated to slaughter 18,720 cattle and 56,160 sheep and goats in its first year.^[10]

Mining

A clinker plant constructed by Simba Cement in Sebit to crush limestone from Sebit Hills of West Pokot County is set to open in July 2023. The plant will have the capacity to process an estimated 6,000 tonnes of clinker daily (two million tonnes annually) which will be crushed in West Pokot then transported to a grinding plant in Eldoret town.^[11][12]

Infrastructure

Energy

The Turkwel Hydro Power Plant operated by electricity generating company Kengen is situated in West Pokot County. Though the plant produces about 105MW of power which is fed to the national grid, many communities around the power plant and the extensive districts of West Pokot and Turkana do not benefit from this resource.

Notable residents

Lonah Chemtai Salpeter

• Tegla Loroupe, world record holder for 20, 25, and 30 kilometres running^[13]
• Simon Kachapin, 1st and 3rd Governor of West Pokot County
• Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (born 1988), Kenyan-born Israeli Olympic marathon runner

2019 landslide

On 23 November 2019 there was a landslide around 2:30 a.m. in West Pokot County near the border with Uganda that was triggered by heavy rainfall that killed over 52 people. At least 22 other people were missing after this disaster, and over 22,000 people were displaced.^[14][15][16]

Flooded roads and bridges were swept away after the incident, hindering rescue operations. It is one of the worst natural disasters to hit the area in recorded history.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]}

References

1. "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume I: Population by County and Sub-County". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
2. County Government. "West Pokot County Information". westpokot.go.ke. County Government of West Pokot. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
3. "West Pokot County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP 2018-2022)". Maarifa. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
4. Kenya: Administrative Division population statistics
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. "The National Treasury" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
7. http://www.cck.go.ke/html/final_annex1_cover_status.pdf ^{[dead link]}
8. "Urban poverty". Archived from the original on 16 July 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
9. "West Pokot revives cash crop farming". The Star. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
10. Chai, Maryann (4 April 2022). "Nasukuta abattoir to slaughter 18,720 cattle, 56,160 sheep and goats annually". The Star. West Pokot. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
11. Andae, Gerald (27 February 2023). "Simba Cement Pokot plant opens in August". Business Daily. Nairobi. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
12. Bii, Barnabas (5 April 2023). "Clinker plant gives West Pokot economic hope". Business Daily. Nairobi. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
13. "Biography Tegla Loroupe |".
14. "Death toll from landslides hits 52 – VIDEO", Nation, retrieved 3 December 2019
15. Muraya, Joseph (20 April 2020). "4,000 displaced by West Pokot mudslides that killed 4 » Capital News". Capital News. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
16. "Houses destroyed as fresh landslides hit West Pokot – Kenya". ReliefWeb. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
17. Farai Sevenzo; Kagweni Micheni; Rob Picheta (24 November 2019). "At least seven children among dozens killed in Kenya landslide". CNN. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
18. Wasike, Allan. "West Pokot landslide death toll hits 52, Governor appeals for a chopper to help transport bodies | KU Radio". Archived from the original on 26 November 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
19. "Deadly landslides bury Kenya villagers". 23 November 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
20. "Hheavy rainfall triggered landslides in West Pokot in Kenya on 23-24 Nov". The Landslide Blog. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
21. Shanzu, Stephen Rutto and Irishreel. "Victims of landslide in West Pokot in dire need four days after disaster". The Standard. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
22. "40 medics in West Pokot to help landslides, floods victims - Kenya". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
23. Death toll from landslides hits 52 - VIDEO, retrieved 3 December 2019
24. "Landslide death toll in West Pokot rises to 43". Capital News. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.

External links

• West Pokot County
• Aridland.go.ke^{[permanent dead link]}
• Reliefweb.int
• Map of the District