Kitui

Kitui is a town and capital of Kitui County in Kenya, 185 kilometres east of Nairobi and 105 kilometres east of Machakos. it covers an area approximately 30,496.4 km squares and lies between latitudes 0°10 South and 3°0 South and longitudes 37°50 East and 39°0 East. It borders seven counties i.e Machakos and Makueni counties to the west, Tana River County to the east and south-east, Taita Taveta County to the south, Embu to the north-west, and Tharaka-Nithi and Meru counties to the north.[2][3] Kitui became the headquarters of Kitui County after the adoption of the new constitution and the devolved government. The name Kitui means ‘a place where iron goods are made’. The Kamba iron-smiths who settled in the county many years before the colonial period are the ones who named the area Kitui.[4] Kitui had a population of 155,896 in 2009[5] making it the 12th largest urban centre in Kenya in terms of population. It is the largest urban centre in the county followed by Mwingi. A large majority of the residents belong to the Kamba, a Bantu people. The Kamba of Kenya speak the Bantu Kamba language (Kikamba) as a mother tongue. Kitui is also inhabited by several other Kenyan communities like the Luo, Somali, Kikuyu and people from the Coast Region.