Mwingi Town: Will it Ever Outgrow Kitui?

I once heard someone projecting that Mwingi town would one day outgrow Kitui town. I found it to be an outrageous projection, but one that is still worth considering. After all, isn’t Mwingi the second biggest town in Kitui county, after Kitui town itself? Isn’t Mwingi growing at a very fast rate?

One thing that works in favor of Mwingi town is of course the fact that it is built on an international highway – you know, the Nairobi Garissa highway, which connects Kenya to Somalia and Ethiopia. And it is a major stopover for travellers on that route: because once you go past Mwingi, the next major town is Garissa. There are certainly towns like Nguni, Ukasi and Bangale on the way, but those are small centers. From Mwingi really the next major town is Garissa. So just as people traveling from Nairobi to Mombasa make stopovers at Mtito-Andei, so do people traveling from Nairobi to Garissa make stopovers at Mwingi, and it has now become standard practice.

It helps too that the people of Mwingi are aggressive businesspeople, and that is gradually being felt, as Mwingi becomes a vibrant trading center.

Another factor working in Mwingi’s favor is the fact that it serves a huge catchment area.

As to whether Mwingi town will ever outgrow Kitui, only the future will tell. What is for sure is the fact that Mwingi will always be one of the important centers in Kenya’s map, especially on the Nairobi Garissa highway.