Kwa Vonza is a highly populated market town in

Kitui County Kitui County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kitui. Mwingi is also another major urban centre. The county has a population of about 1.2 million people (as of 2024)Ny ...

, to the west of

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 long ...

town, along Kitui -

Machakos Machakos, also called Masaku, is a town in Machakos County, Kenya. Serving as the capital of the county, its urban population was 63,767 as of 2019. History Machakos was established in 1887 by Sakshi Shah, ten years before Nairobi. Machakos ...

road. It houses the main campus of

South Eastern Kenya University South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU) is a public university with its main campus located in Kwa Vonza, Kitui County, Kenya. It was formerly South Eastern University College "SEUCO", a constituent college of The University of Nairobi prior to ...

and a satellite campus of

Kenyatta University Kenyatta University (KU) is a public university with its main campus in Nairobi, Kenya. It acquired the status of university in 1985, being the third university after University of Nairobi (1970) and Moi University (1984). As of October 2014, it ...

(Kitui Campus).

History

Kwa Vonza is also famous with Colonial

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

settlers such as the founder of this town, locally called Vonza, whose grave is believed to be at a cross found at the peak of the Kwa Vonza hill. Kwa Vonza area is now a major picnic spot frequented by university students and locals. Some local churches also hold prayers on the spot around the cross.

Economic activities

Kwa Vonza has seen a rapid growth in the recent past due to the opening of the two universities in the area and also its location at the junction of Kitui - Machakos road and Kwa Vonza - Kanyangi road. Kwa Vonza market, which is most vibrant on Fridays sells vegetables, livestock, fruits and fabrics. Kwa Vonza mainly provides accommodation to the students of the two universities and it therefore has a large number of residential houses, hotels, restaurants and recreational places. Major hotels and restaurants in Kwa Vonza include Moonlight Hotel, club 1.1, Trump, jupiter Hard Rock restaurant, Ideal Place, Miyajima, Bench, Tamasha among others. Kwa Vonza also borders an extensive area which is covered with a natural forest which contains a large number of indigenous trees and shrubs. This forest is maintained by a Japanese Research Institute - JICA and is inhabited by wild animals such as a wide range of snakes, hares, dikdiks and monkeys.

Education

Kwa Vonza is the home to

(SEKU) - Main Campus and

- Kitui Campus. Secondary schools around the Kwa Vonza area include St. Paul's Kwa Vonza Secondary School, Masaani St. Marys Secondary school and Tanganyika Secondary School. There are many Primary schools.

References

{{First and second-level administrative divisions of Kenya Kitui County