Nyanza Province

Nyanza Mkoa wa Nyanza
Former Province
Location in Kenya.
Coordinates: 0°30′S 34°40′E / 0.500°S 34.667°E
Country	Kenya
No. of Counties:	6
Capital	Kisumu
Area
• Total	12,477.1 km2 (4,817.4 sq mi)
Population (2009 Census)
• Total	5,442,711
• Density	440/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)

The capital of Kenya's Nyanza Province, on Lake Victoria, is Kisumu (click to enlarge map)

Nyanza Province (Kenyan English: [ˈɲaːnzə]; Swahili: Mkoa wa Nyanza) was one of Kenya's eight administrative provinces before the formation of the 47 counties under the 2010 constitution. Six counties were organised in the area of the former province.

The region is located in the southwest part of Kenya around Lake Victoria, includes part of the eastern edge of Lake Victoria, and is inhabited predominantly by the Luo people and kisii people. There are also Bantu-speaking tribes, such as the Kuria, and some Luhya, living in the province. The province derives its name from Nyanza, a Bantu word which means a large mass of water.

The provincial capital was Kisumu, the third-largest city in Kenya. The province had a population of 4,392,196 at the 1999 census within an area of 16.162 km², or 12.613 km² of land.

The climate is tropical humid.

Counties

The following counties make up the area of the former Nyanza province:

Districts after 2007

Several new districts were created in 2007 in Kenya, also in Nyanza Province:^[1]

Languages

The predominant language in Nyanza is Dholuo, a Nilotic languageand Ekegusii (Bantu Languages) whose origins are from South Sudan. It is spoken by the ethnic Luo.

Other languages include;Luhya, Kuria, and Suba and the national languages of English and Swahili. Other languages from the many Kenyan communities are also spoken in small pockets by migrants from these communities.

Notable residents

• Tom Mboya, politician and former minister
• Barack Obama Sr., was born in Nyanza Province. Economist with the government, he was educated in the United States, in Hawaii and Massachusetts. He was the father of the President Barack Obama (2009-2017) of the United States, who was born in Hawaii.
• Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, independence fighter and socialist politician
• Raila Odinga, son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, he is a politician and the leader of Opposition in Kenya.
• Bethwell Allan Ogot, is a renowned historian and academician.
• Achieng Oneko, independence fighter and socialist politician
• Robert Ouko, politician and former minister
• James Orengo is a Kenyan lawyer, a well known human rights activist and a prominent politician who is the current senator for Siaya County.

Villages and settlements

References

External links

Languages

• https://web.archive.org/web/20060820152345/http://www.yale.edu/swahili/ Swahili- English translation
• Kisii Language - Kisii English- Ekegusii translation