With a plethora of famous learning institutions such as the Alliances, Maryhill Girls, Mang’u High School, Loreto Limuru and Limuru Girls, Kiambu might well be considered the cradle of education. Hundreds of Kenyans from across the country come here to learn in its famous institutions before moving on to make their own mark on the world.
Kiambu’s cool climate allows for farming to prosper with cash crops such as tea and coffee, as well as a burgeoning dairy industry. Traveling along the winding roads of this perpetually green county one has to watch out for the trucks heavily loaded with produce making their way to other parts of the country.
From the famous Bata Shoe factory located in Limuru to the thriving Artist Community at Banana Hill to textile producer Bogani Industries in Ruiru, to the Bidco plant in Thika, Kiambu County supplies many of the items we enjoy in our homes today.
As we credit our 22nd county on its ability to house these several industries, we must visit the county’s history. One of the theories around the origin of the name Kiambu was that it came from the area’s consistent rainfall. The Gikuyu people referred to the area as ‘Kia Mbuu’ which translates to ‘place of drizzles’ which possibly resulted in the name. Another theory suggests that the name Kiambu came to be because of the inhabitants of the area a long time ago – they were the prominent Gikuyu clan known as ‘Mbari ya Mbuu’.
Still on history, any memories of a man by the name Waiyaki wa Hinga? He was the Kiambu local who led the resistance against the colonial rule as early as 1891. A hero to many, Chief Waiyaki is remembered through school syllabi, and is immortalized in one of the capital city’s earliest highways’ – Waiyaki Way. Decades later, another Kiambu son, literary scholar Ngugi wa Thiongo defended Kenya with his pen as he wrote several stories of Kenya through the eyes of a Kiambu lad.
Kiambu continues to grow and is even more popular as a result of the Thika Superhighway – Kenya’s largest road, the beautiful Gitamaiyo Forest Reserve where one can go camping, hiking or even ziplining. Meanwhile the county with its growing urban population is becoming a new destination county for many!
