Kitui is a town in Kenya, 130 kilometers east of Nairobi and 75 kilometers east of Machakos. It used to be the capital of the Kitui District in Eastern Province of Kenya. Due to political reforms, Kitui is now the headquarters of Kitui County, which covers a larger area than the former district did. As a consequent the city has become a natural meeting point for politicians and businessmen. And most of the hotels are therefore expanding. In addition, people have noticed that Kitui town is suitable for a pit-stop or a sleep on the way from Mt. Kenya to Mombasa.

Kitui town had a population of 13,244 in 1999, but has grown substantially since this. According to the local Non-Governmental Organization KICABA, there are now about 60,000 living in the city, whereas 1,000,000 if you include the outskirts. A large majority of the residents belong to the Kamba, a Bantu people. The Kamba of Kenya speak the Bantu Kamba language (Kikamba) as a mother tongue, and are considered as friendly and welcoming people.

Kitui District is an administrative district in the Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Kitui. The district has a population of 515,422 (1999 census) and an area of 20,402 km² [1].

The district has two local authorities: Kitui municipality and Kitui county council.

Kitui district is divided into eight administrative divisions: Central (Kitui), Kabati, Chuluni, Mutitu, Mwitika, Mutomo (Ikanga), Ikutha and Yatta.

The district has four constituencies:

Local people are mostly of the Akamba tribe.

The climate is semi-arid; it receives roughly 71 cm (28 inches). A significant point however is that rainfall occurs practically only during the rainy seasons (one long around May and June, and one short, around September and October).

There are some private secondary schools in the area, however, there are no technical centers of higher learning (known to this editor) in Kitui District. recently kenyatta university has established a campus(kitui) campus in the town

The vast majority of the economy is based on sustenance farming, despite the fact that the agriculture is an extremely challenging endeavor giving the sporadic rainfall. A logical move therefore would be a transition to non-agricultural industries.