History
A Brief History of our Town
Historically, Omuthiya was founded in the early 1900’s initially as a stopover for trains moving mining cargo between the mines inland and the coast, and eventually as a workshop station for locomotive repairs, a purpose the town carried well into the 1960’s.
Omuthiya Gwiipundi' (Camel thorn tree with resting benches) came into existence after a contractor, Mr. Moses Eriki, constructed a table and chairs under the tree to serve as a resting place for road users. It was soon used as trading post by surrounding villages to trade their goods.
Cattle herders started using the tree for resting and trading. The original Omuthiya tree was next to the main road and eventually fell down in 1976. After the mysterious falling of the tree, trading and development continued and Omuthiya was proclaimed a town in 2008.
See our History Timeline
Since 2008 when Omuthiya was proclaimed as a town.
The town has grown into an urban hub due to a high rate of development in housing and infrastructure like roads, water,
sanitation and electricity.
1900s
Omuthiya Gwiipundi came into existence
Omuthiya Gwiipundi' (Camel thorn tree with resting benches) came into existence after a contractor, Mr. Moses Eriki, constructed a table and chairs under the tree to serve as a resting place for road users
1960s
A workshop station for locomotive repairs
Became a stopover for trains moving mining cargo between the mines inland and the coast, and eventually as a workshop station for locomotive repairs
2008
Proclaimed as a town
Omuthiya was proclaimed a town in 2008. Since then, the town has grown into an urban hub due to a high rate of development in housing and infrastructure like roads, water, sanitation and electricity.
2020
Omuthiya NaTIS Opened
Officially opened the Omuthiya NaTIS Office on 19 November.
