By Ferdinand Mwongela

Lying along the Nairobi-Namanga road, this small town has acquired a reputation for the battles of political supremos in the region.

This is the headquarters of Kajiado District that has among others Internal Security Minister George Saitoti and Assistant Minister of State for Defence Joseph Nkaissery as the region’s MPs not to mention the Olkejuado County Council, which was the focus of resistance to the idea of the Nairobi Metropolitan ministry telling the architects to go tell it to the cows. Sound familiar?

A view of a street in Kajiado town.

Severe drought

As you come into Kajiado from Nairobi, wide-open plains, empty as far as the eye can see, greet you. Close to the road, however, stone residential houses are slowly coming up.

This was one of the areas hit by the severe drought early this year and residents still tell of woes of losing their cattle.

Then, goats could be seen standing on their hind feet to reach the upper twigs of shrubs. However, herders are slowly returning after some showers gave the town a hint of green, covering the deathly brown that had pushed them away.

Kajiado town is spread wide with the administrative headquarters quite a walk from the shopping centre, hidden by huge acacia trees.

A first time visitor might think it a one street centre. Congregated together are the district headquarters, government departments and the Olkejuado County Council offices.

The number of bank branches in the area is testimony to the economic potential of this deceptively sleepy town. There are Equity, Kenya Commercial Bank, K-Rep and Co-operative Bank branches and ATMs.

Tenants

One can get a single room commercial space for anything between Sh3,500 to Sh5,000 per month rental, depending on the size. Residential rents can be as little as Sh2,000 per month for a single room to Sh8,000 to Sh10,000 for a three or four-bedroom house. The tenants are civil servants posted to this area or businessmen from other areas.

Schools include AIC Girls School and the Masai Technical Training Institute. On the outskirts is land preserved for a university.

The road to Kajiado is quite smooth due to the ongoing construction of a road to Arusha, Tanzania.