Tharaka-Nithi County is one of the 47

counties of Kenya The counties of Kenya () are geographical units created by the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 Constitution of Kenya as the new units of devolution, devolved government. They replaced the previous Provinces of Kenya, provincial system. The establ ...

. It was created from

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. ...

's Eastern Province. The county has an area of 2609 km² and as of the 2019 census a population of 393,177. It is home to the

Meru people The Meru or Amîîrú (including the Ngaa) are a Bantu ethnic group that inhabit the Meru region of Kenya. The region is situated on the fertile lands of the north and eastern slopes of Mount Kenya in the former Eastern Province. The word ...

. Tharaka-Nithi County is home to the Chuka, Muthambi, Mwimbi and Tharaka subgroups of the Ameru community. The people of Tharaka-Nithi County are predominantly

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, with

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, and Methodists being the predominant religious communities. The county consists of three

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Maara ''Maara'' is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language adventure romantic drama film directed by Dhilip Kumar in his directorial debut, and produced by Prateek Chakravorty and Shruti Nallappa of Pramod Films. An adaptation of the 2015 Malayalam blockbust ...

, Chuka and

Tharaka Tharaka was a mythological king from Sri Lanka. According to legend, he designed the craft "Dandu Monara", which was able to fly, but he was unable to build it. Instead the King Ravana built it, and stories from the Ramayana tell of him using it ...

History

In 1992,

Meru District Meru District, officially the Meru District Council (''Wilaya ya Meru'', in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of seven Districts of Tanzania, districts of the Arusha Region of Tanzania.The District is bordered to the north by Longido District, to ...

was broken up into four new districts: Meru Central, Meru North, Meru South and Tharaka. Subsequently, Meru South, also known as Nithi, combined with Tharaka into the Tharaka-Nithi District. In 1998, the Tharaka-Nithi District was split into two districts, Nithi and Tharaka, but a 2009 High Court decision declared that split unconstitutional and re-combined the two. Subsequently, under the revised constitution of 2010, Tharaka-Nithi became a county.

Economy

Like other counties surrounding

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Meru people, Meru: ''Kĩrĩmaara,'' Kikuyu people, Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba language, Kamba: ''Ki nyaa'', Embu language, Embu: ''Kĩ nyaga'') is an extinct volcano in Kenya and the Highest mountain peaks of Africa, second-highe ...

, the primary economic activity in Tharaka-Nithi County is farming. Crops planted include tea and coffee in the higher areas of the county while sorghum, maize, green grams and millet in the low altitude areas. Dairy farming and fish farming are also practiced in the county.

Religion

Religion in Tharaka-Nithi County

Prominent personalities

Bernard Mate Bernard Mate (1922 – 6 January 1994) was a Kenyan politician and one of the first group of Africans to be elected to the Legislative Council of Kenya (LegCo), the legislative arm of government in the British Colony of Kenya, representing ...

, politician; member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Muthomi Njuki Njuki is a Kenyan politician. He is the second and Incumbent Governor of Tharaka Nithi County in Kenya after being re-elected on a UDA ticket in the 2022 Kenyan general election. Before being elected Governor, he served as the Chuka/Igambang'o ...

, governor of Tharaka-Nithi County *

Kithure Kindiki Abraham Kithure Kindiki (born 17 July 1972) is a Kenyan politician, lawyer and a former law professor who is the 3rd and current deputy President of Kenya since 1 November 2024. He previously served as the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Natio ...

, Deputy president, politician; former Senator and former Cabinet Secretary of Interior and Administration * Mzalendo Kibunjia, archaeologist and museum director *

James Ngugi James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince James ...

, entrepreneur and economist * Erastus Njoka, politician and former and founding vice chancellor of

Chuka University Chuka University is a public university in Kenya. Location The main university campus is located in the town of Chuka, in Tharaka-Nithi County, along the eastern slopes of Mount Kenya. This location is along the Nairobi-Meru, Kenya, Meru Hi ...

. * Peter K. Muriungi, the first and founding vice chancellor of Tharaka University.

References

External links