Kibwezi Town Guide
Kibwezi town is the headquarters of Kibwezi division, one of 15 administrative divisions in Makueni County. The division has a population of 80,236, of whom 4,695 are classified urban. The division has four locations: Kikumbulyu, Kinyambu, Masongaleni and Utithi. The town is located within Kikumbulyu location.
Kibwezi is also name for Kibwezi West Constituency, the local electoral constituency. Kibwezi does not seat a local authority but is part of Makueni County Council.
Economic Activities in Kibwezi
Kibwezi West Constituency has a number of major markets and urban centres such as Mtito Andei, Sultan Hamud, Emali, Makindu, Machinery and Kibwezi. The total combined urban area in the constituency is over 250 Kms sq. The urban area accounts for approximately 7 percent of the total area. All the towns and urban centres except the county capital, Wote, are located along the Mombasa- Nairobi highway, which influenced their emergence, and their economic activities. There are over 500 retail traders and 100 wholesale businesses spread all over the constituency centres dealing in a range of commodities. Most tradable goods include livestock farming in Kenya, cereal, building materials and household products.
Kibwezi is home to Emali market, which is among the largest open-air markets in Kenya. Development of modern markets is critical to harnessing the potential of the existing trade. Traders presently carry out their business in open air facilities.
Hotels in Kibwezi Town
- Pacino Annex Hotel
- Shushan Palace Hotel
- Holiday home
- Savannah Paradise Hotel
Things To do and Places To Visit in Kibwezi Town
Tourism Attractions
Major landmarks and tourist attractions of the
area include the Tsavo East National Parks, the Chyulu
Hills National Park and the world famous Amboseli National Park. The white halo peak of the Mount Kilimanjaro rises clearly to the west and all around to the south stretch miles of Maasai land. This region is in many regards a land of vastness and impressive landscapes, such as the Yatta plateau, the longest lava stream in the world and the baobab country around Kibwezi West.
The Mbui Nzau Hills or White Goat Hills are situated just 5 km from the Kibwezi junction along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway. The hills are customarily famous from the local folk tale of a white goat that used to appear on top of the hills very early in the morning just after sunrise before the arrival of the missionaries.
Go out for dinner in Kibwezi Town
Kambua Guest House
Renos restaurant
place to stay in Kibwezi
Kambua Guest House
Do some shopping in Kibwezi
The Light Publishers
Silver link General Store
Wa Roba Collections
Modern Furniture Matt
Transport in Kibwezi town
The most common form of transport in Kibwezi is public minivans and buses. Within the town and its adjacent areas, motorbikes and bicycles bodabodas are commonly used. It has a station on the Rift Valley Railways Corporation, formerly Kenya Railways Corporation system. The new Standard Gauge Rail however, passes a few kilometers from the town centre.
The town is located along the Nairobi – Mombasa highway. Another road connects Kibwezi with Kitui.
Religion in Kibwezi Town
There are several religions represented in the town. There is a mosque for the local Muslim community and several churches from varying Christian denominations. The two largest congregations are Catholic and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA).
Education Institutions in Kibwezi Town
The largest school is the Kibwezi Educational Centre, a partnership between the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) and Burke Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). It contains a polytechnic offering two-year vocational programs in carpentry, masonry, welding, and tailoring. There is also a secretarial department which requires students to have graduated from secondary school. A primary school and preschool are for grades one to eight. Scholarships are available for need based students such as orphans. There are around thirty children in the greater Kibwezi area supported and sometimes under scholarship for educational costs. Students from very needy families benefit from the government disbursed bursaries.