West Pokot County

West Pokot County is a county in Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kapenguria. The county covers an area of approximately 9,169.4 square kilometers and stretches a distance of 132 kilometers from north to south.

West Pokot County is bordered to the north by Turkana County, to the east by Baringo County, to the southeast by Elgeyo-Marakwet County, to the south by Trans Nzoia County and to the west by Uganda. According to the 2019 census, the county has a population of 621,241.

The county is home to Tegla Loroupe, one of the most famous Kenyan female runners, and the birthplace of Israeli Olympic marathon runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter.

Demographics
Pokot people are the main inhabitants of the county, and there is also a minority community of Sengwer.

Religion
Religion in West Pokot County

Geography
Mount Mtelo is located in West Pokot County.

Constituencies

 * 1) Kapenguria Constituency
 * 2) Kacheliba Constituency
 * 3) Pokot South Constituency
 * 4) Sigor Constituency

Economy
The West Pokot county economy is principally driven by livestock rearing and agriculture. Large numbers of cattle, sheep and goats are reared, with some of the breeds reared being Sahiwal Zebus, Galla goats and Merino sheep. In Pokot Central and North sub-counties, zebu indicine cattle have long been kept for meat production while in West Pokot and Pokot South sub-counties dairy breeds, primarily Ayrshire and Friesian, are increasingly kept for milk production.

Some of the main crops grown include maize, a staple ingredient grown mainly in West Pokot Sub-County, as well as finger millet, coffee, beans, onions, sweet potatoes, green grams, peas, mangoes, oranges, bananas, potatoes and pyrethrum. The latter two are mainly grown in South Pokot sub-county. Irrigation infrastructure has been developed by the National Irrigation Authority & the Kerio Valley Development Authority in Sigor across the permanent rivers; WeiWei and Muruny putting over 1000 acres in year long crop production without relying on rain.

Livestock
West Pokot County is known for livestock production with large numbers of cattle, sheep and goats being reared in the county. The sector faces significant challenges of banditry in the form of livestock theft.

In early 2022, the West Pokot government, in partnership with the European Union, established the Nasukuta Export Abattoir in Chepareria ward. The abattoir started at 60 per cent capacity utilization for cattle, sheep and goats, and was anticipated to slaughter 18,720 cattle and 56,160 sheep and goats in its first year.

Mining
A clinker plant constructed by Simba Cement in Sebit to crush limestone from Sebit Hills of West Pokot County is set to open in July 2023. The plant will have the capacity to process an estimated 6,000 tonnes of clinker daily (two million tonnes annually) which will be crushed in West Pokot then transported to a grinding plant in Eldoret town.

Energy
The Turkwel Hydro Power Plant operated by electricity generating company Kengen is situated in West Pokot County. Though the plant produces about 105MW of power which is fed to the national grid, many communities around the power plant and the extensive districts of West Pokot and Turkana do not benefit from this resource.

Notable residents

 * Tegla Loroupe, world record holder for 20, 25, and 30 kilometres running
 * Simon Kachapin, 1st and 3rd Governor of West Pokot County
 * Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (born 1988), Kenyan-born Israeli Olympic marathon runner

2019 landslide
On 23 November 2019 there was a landslide around 2:30 a.m. in West Pokot County near the border with Uganda that was triggered by heavy rainfall that killed over 52 people. At least 22 other people were missing after this disaster, and over 22,000 people were displaced.

Flooded roads and bridges were swept away after the incident, hindering rescue operations. It is one of the worst natural disasters to hit the area in recorded history.