Lodwar
Lodwar
| Lodwar | |
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 Lodwar
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| Coordinates: 03°07′N 35°56′E / 3.117°N 35.933°E | |
| Country |  Kenya |
| Admin. division | Turkana District |
| Elevation | 1,565 ft (477 m) |
| Population | |
| - Total | 17,000 |
| - Religions | Roman Catholic |
Lodwar is the largest town in northwestern Kenya, located west of Lake Turkana on the A1 road. Its main industries are basket weaving and tourism. The Loima Hills lie to its west. Lodwar is the capital of Turkana District. The town has a population of 17,000.
According to the Insider’s guide to Kenya Lodwar’s history began around 1933 when a trader named Shah Mohamed, arrived on the banks of the Turkwell River. The roads were inaccessible so he brought the donkeys. He eventually built a permanent trading centre in Lodwar including a gas station. The district commissioner’s office was built followed by a small medical clinic and a government prison. Police headquarters were built in Lokitaung as the tribal disputes were common in the area. During the 1960s, missionaries built schools in and around the town. Shah Mohamed opened several stores in the remote towns of this Turkana district because he was the only contractor and supplier to government departments, carried mail to the area, supplied and transported the goods for the Norwegian and Italian fish-canning projects on Lake Turkana (both projects eventually failed).
During the colonial period, Lodwar functioned as a transit point for British officials moving Kenyan political prisoners to the north. Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, was restricted to house arrest for two years in Lodwar in 1959. The town had developed a reputation as an isolated outpost removed from in the rest of Kenya, but in recent years, Lodwar has expanded and gained commercial and economic prominence.
Lodwar is considered the capital of the region, housing local and governmental facilities, including Turkana’s biggest health facility and the main referral hospital, Lodwar District Hospital (LDH). It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodwar. The town is also served by Lodwar Airport.
See also
- Jomo Kenyatta
- ^ http://treasury.go.ke/cbs.go.ke/pdf/authority.pdf
- ^ Living On! Fighting HIV/AIDS in Turkana, IRC/Matija Kovac, 2010, http://www.rescue-uk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Reports/IRC_LivingOn_online-1_01.pdf
- Elizabeth Watkins, Jomo's Jailor - Grand Warrior of Kenya. (1993) Mulberry Books ISBN 978-0952895206
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Coordinates: 03°07′00″N 35°36′00″E / 3.1166667°N 35.6°E