Lamu County

Not to be confused with Lamu.
Lamu County
County

Lamu, Lamu Island

Location in Kenya
Country  Kenya
Formed 4 March 2013
Capital Lamu
Government
 • Governor Issa Timamy
Area
 • Total 6,273.1 km2 (2,422.1 sq mi)
 • Land 6,273.1 km2 (2,422.1 sq mi)
Elevation 308 m (1,010 ft)
Population (2009)
 • Total 101,539 [1]
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)
Website lamu.go.ke

Lamu County is located in the Northern Coast of Kenya and is one of the Six Coastal Counties in Kenya. It borders Kilifi County in the southwest, Garissa County to the north, Republic of Somalia to the northeast and the Indian Ocean to the South. It lies 1° 40’ and 2° 30’south and longitude 40° 15’ and 40° 38’south. The County has a land surface of 6,273.1 km that include the mainland and over 65 islands that form the Lamu Archipelago. The total length of the coastline is 130 km while land water mass area stands at 308 km.

The County has 2 constituencies namely Lamu West and Lamu East. These two also consist of the two districts referred to as the sub-counties in Lamu County. Lamu West has Amu Mkomani, Shela, Hindi, Mkunumbi, Hongwe, Bahari and Witu Divisions while Lamu East has Faza, Basuba and Kiunga divisions. There are 10 wards, 23 locations, and 38 sub-locations in the County

The main economic activities in the county include crop production, livestock production, fisheries, tourism and mining, most notably quarrying. Among the challenges facing Lamu is population growth owing to migration into Lamu from other parts of the country, fuelled partly by the anticipated opportunities accruing from the Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor. Other challenges include landlessness and poor land management, insufficient social services such as healthcare and education, inadequate supply of piped and fresh water, under-developed infrastructure, and food insecurity.

There are extensive mangrove forests in the area.

Constituency County wards Land Area (km2)
LAMU WEST Shella 54.7
Mkomani 172.5
Hindi 1150.8
Mkunumbi 1366.1
Hongwe 128.5
Bahari 123.3
Witu 975.4
LAMU EAST Faza 79.2
Basuba 1708.7
Kiunga 513.9
TOTAL 6273.1
Source: Lamu County CIDP 2013-2017[2]
Administrative divisions
Division Population* Urban pop.* Headquarters
Amu 17,310 12,839 Lamu
Faza 7,474 0 Faza
Hindi 7,072 1,335
Kiunga 3,310 0 Kiunga
Kizingitini 6,010 0 Kizingitini
Mpeketoni 25,530 773 Mpeketoni
Witu 5,980 1,322 Witu
Total 72,686 16,269 -
* 1999 census. Sources[3][4]

Demographics

The county is made of cosmopolitan population composed of indigenous communities made of Swahili’s, Arabs, Koreni, Boni and Ormas and migrant communities from the rest of the country. The county population as projected in 2012 stands at 112,252 persons composed of 58,641 males and 53,611 females. The LAPSSET project is expected to attract a huge migrant population estimated to be over one million. This will certainly overstretch the county’s social services necessitating commensurate development planning for adequate service provision

References

  1. ↑ "Kenya Census 2009". Scribd.com. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  2. ↑ "Lamu County CIDP 2013-2017" (PDF). The Council of Governors. Lamu County Government. Retrieved 10 April 2016. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  3. ↑ Archived 16 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ "Urban Poverty All Kenya Provinces". Retrieved 26 May 2014.

Coordinates: 2°18′0″S 40°42′0″E / 2.30000°S 40.70000°E / -2.30000; 40.70000


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