Trans-Nzoia County

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Trans-Nzoia County" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Trans-Nzoia County Kaunti ya Trans Nzoia
County
Flag
Motto:  Unity in Diversity
Location in Kenya
Country	Kenya
County Government	4 March 2013
Capital	Kitale
Government
• Body	County Government of Trans Nzoia
• Governor	George Natembeya (Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K))
Area
• Total	2,469.9 km2 (953.6 sq mi)
• Land	2,495.5 km2 (963.5 sq mi)
Population  (2019)
• Total	990,341[1]
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Website	transnzoia.go.ke

Trans-Nzoia County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya, located between the Nzoia River and Mount Elgon, 380 km northwest of Nairobi. At its centre is the town of Kitale which is the capital and largest town. It is bordered by the Republic of Uganda to the west, Bungoma and Kakamega Counties to the south, West Pokot County to the east, and Elgeyo Marakwet and Uasin Gishu Counties to the southeast. Trans Nzoia covers an area of 2495.5 square kilometres.^[2] The county has a cool and temperate climate, with daytime temperatures ranging from 23.4°C to 29.2°C and nighttime temperatures from 11.0°C to 13.5°C. It receives moderate rainfall, making it suitable for agriculture

Earliest known written records about the region show that Trans Nzoia was inhabited by the Maasai who, by the time of the arrival of colonial settlers, had died or left the district, some had died of illness, others had been killed in intertribal wars with the Suk (Pokot), and the remainder had mostly gone off in the direction of Ravine, though some had gone up Elgon.^[3] After independence, many of the farms vacated by white settlers were bought by individuals from other ethnic groups in Kenya. Kitale, its capital town, is now majorly Luhya with inhabitants from other tribes in Kenya occupying almost less than 1% of the population.^[4]

The county is largely agricultural with both large scale and small scale wheat, maize and dairy farming. The county is referred to as the bread basket of Kenya for its role in food production in the country. The majority of its inhabitants are however generally poor.

Trans Nzoia is one of Kenya's forty-seven counties, established under the 2010 constitution. It is locally governed by the County Government of Trans Nzoia. The County Government Act allows the County Government to further decentralize its functions and services below the village with the approval of the Trans-Nzoia County Assembly. Governors are elected every five years in the Kenya General Elections. George Natembeya is the current governor since 2022, succeeding Patrick Khaemba who was the first governor of Trans Nzoia and led the county from 2013 to 2022.