Garba Tula (also spelled Garbatulla) and popularly nicknamed by the locals ''El Borte'' (meaning ''Bitter Well'' , probably due to its salty water) is a town in

Isiolo County Isiolo County is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its population was 268,002 according to 2019 census. The capital and largest town in the county is Isiolo. Isiolo County is set to be the first county to be developed as part ...

, Northern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. The town has an urban population of about 5,500. In 2007 it was up-graded to a District status. But with the new administrative sub-divisions of Kenya, Garba Tula is a sub-county of Isiolo County, as well as an administrative ward. As the name suggests, Garbatulla is mainly a Somali inhabited town in Isiolo County, Kenya. In the 1940s Garba Tulla was a very small village and only had three shops on the main road. Mr. Joseph Onyango became the first District Commissioner on 17 November 2007. The town has been known for its famous National School run by NCCK. Garba Tula is located 120 km East of

Isiolo Isiolo is a town in Isiolo County, of which it is the capital. It is located in the upper eastern region of Kenya and is geographically considered the center of the country Kenya. It lies 285 kilometers north of the capital Nairobi. The town gr ...

town. The urban center of Mado Gashi is located about 100 km North East of Garba Tula. It is about 90 km to Maua town via

Kinna Kinna is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Mark Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 14,776 inhabitants in 2010. Kinna is located south of Borås and south east of Gothenburg. The original Kinna has grown toge ...

, up to which the road is an all-weather one, and then tarmac which starts right at the gates of Meru National Park which is about 60 km away from Garba Tula town and about 14 km from Kinna town. The locals of the town are the Sakuye people who are of

Bimaal The Bimaal or Bimal, (; Arabic:بيمال) are a sub-clan of the major Dir clan family. This clan is widely known for leading a resistance against the colonials in northern Somalia for decades which can be compared to the war of the Sayyid in So ...

origin.

References

Populated places in Isiolo County {{EasternKE-geo-stub