Taveta, Kenya

Location

The town of Taveta is wedged into a projection of Kenyan territory bordered on the north and west by Tanzania. The irregularity in the border was created c. 1881 when Queen Victoria gave Mount Kilimanjaro away as a wedding present to her grandson, then Crown Prince of Prussia and later Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Subsequently, the border was adjusted so that Kilimanjaro would fall within the boundaries of German East Africa instead of the British East Africa Protectorate.

The town lies at the border with Tanzania, directly across from the town of Holili. This is approximately 111 kilometres (69 mi), by road, west of Voi, the nearest large town, on the Arusha–Holili–Taveta–Voi Road. This lies approximately 305 kilometres (190 mi), by road southeast of Nairobi, the capital and largest city in Kenya. The coordinates of the town are:3°23'44.0"S, 37°40'34.0"E (Latitude:-3.395565; Longitude:37.676113). In addition to Mount Kilimanjaro, Taveta also enjoys proximity to Lake Chala, a volcanic freshwater lake of extraordinary depth.

Overview

Taveta thrives as a point of commerce between Kenya and Tanzania, with a twice-weekly outdoor market especially large for a town of its size. The market is fueled in part by Taveta's rail connection through Voi with the Mombasa-Nairobi-Kampala line, built during the era of British Kenya. Large numbers of people walk across the border from Tanzania to buy and sell wares in Taveta; smuggled goods such as Tanzanian rubies and coffee are occasionally available there.

Taveta Town is a fast-growing town. The Town Council of Taveta has acquired a 20 square kilometres (4,900 acres) former sisal plantation for town expansion. All government border offices are located some 5 kilometres (3 mi), west of the central business district of the town, towards the border with Tanzania, with modern new office premises.The Holili/Taveta customs and immigration post is a One Stop Border Post.

The current (2014) Member of Parliament for Taveta Constituency, which is largely the district and by extension the town, is Dr. Naomi Shaaban. She is a third term Member of Parliament.

At one time, Taveta has had several Members of Parliament from different tribes, namely Mwacharo Kubo a taita, Norman Lukindo a kamba, Jackson Mwalulu a kamba, Alex Dingiria, Othinel Mnene, Naomi Shaaban, all Tavetas, and even a Kenyan of Greek origin, Basil Criticos.

Population

As of March 2016, the population of Taveta Town is estimated at 13,377