:''This is an article on Athi River town. See also
Athi-Galana-Sabaki River''
'Athi River' is a town outside
Nairobi,
Kenya. It is also known as ''Mavoko''. The town hosts Mavoko municipal council and headquarters of Mavoko division which is part of the
Machakos District. The town has an urban population of 22.000 and a total population of 48,260 (1999 census
[1]). The town is relatively industrialised, including a major cement factory. Athi River town is also a growing residential area due to its proximity to the capital. The town has a railway station built in 1920 along the
Mombasa - Nairobi line. The
Daystar University has a campus in Athi River. The town is named after Athi, the first part of the
Athi-Galana river system.
Athi River town is adjacent to
Kitengela town, but is part of the Machakos District in
Eastern Province, while Kitengela belongs to
Kajiado District in the
Rift Valley Province.
Mavoko municipality has six wards (Athi River West, Katani, Kinanie/Mathani, Makadara, Muthwani and Sophia). All these wards belong to Kathiani constituency, which has total of ten wards. The remaining four wards are within Masaku County Council
[2].
References
1. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics: ''Population of local authorities''
2. Electoral Commission of Kenya: ''Registration centres by electoral area and constituency''
Daily Nation, Aug 21, 2000:
''Town touched by tragedy''