Official Name: | Kwanza |
Settlement Type: | Town |
Pushpin Map: | Kenya |
Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Kenya |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Kenya |
Subdivision Type1: | County |
Subdivision Name1: | Trans-Nzoia County |
Subdivision Type2: | Constituencies of Kenya |
Subdivision Name2: | Kwanza Constituency |
Established Title: | Town |
Established Date: | 1988 |
Population As Of: | 2018 |
Population Footnotes: | Estimate |
Timezone: | EAT |
Utc Offset: | +3 |
Coordinates: | 1.1642°N 35°W |
Elevation M: | 1984 |
Elevation Ft: | 6509 |
Postal Code Type: | Postal Code |
Kwanza is a town in Trans-Nzoia County in western Kenya, close to the international border with Uganda. It is the headquarters of Kwanza Ward, one of the constituent wards in Kwanza Constituency.[1]
Kwanza is located approximately 20km (10miles), by road, north of Kitale, the location of the county headquarters.[2] This is about 37km (23miles), by road, east of the Suam, Kenya customs control post, at the border with Uganda.[3] The geographical coordinates of Kwanza are: 01°09'51.0"N, 35°00'00.0"E (Latitude:1.1641; Longitude:35.0000). Kwanza sits at an average elevation of 1984m (6,509feet), above sea level.[4]
As of June 2018, Kwanza Constituency lacked a tarmacked road, with residents using donkeys to "transport produce from farms to markets".[5] The planned tarmacking of the Kitale–Namanjalala–Keriget–Chepchoina Road, is expected to boost agriculture in the community, as it will ease the transport of agricultural produce to the market, post-harvest.[5] The 60km (40miles) road, is expected to cost US$20 million to upgrade to grade II tarmac, with drainage culverts and shoulders. The contract has been awarded to China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Corporation, with the government of Kenya funding the upgrade.[5]