Butere
| Butere | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Butere
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| Coordinates: 00°13′N 34°30′E / 0.217°N 34.500°ECoordinates: 00°13′N 34°30′E / 0.217°N 34.500°E | |
| Country | Kenya |
| County | Kakamega County |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 4,725 |
Butere is a town in Kakamega County of the former Western Province of Kenya. It has an urban population of 4725 (2009 census). Until 2010, the town was the capital of the former Butere/Mumias District.
Butere is linked by road to Mumias (in north) and Kisumu (SE). A branch railway line from Kisumu ends at Butere. Passenger service on the branch line was resumed in January 2007 after lengthy suspension.
The name Butere comes from one of the main clans in the division the Abatere subclan who reside in areas such as Muyundi, Masaba and around the township. Abatere were the inhabitants of Butere before the whites made the town its administration station.
Butere's economic mainstay is subsistence maize production though the division is an important supplier of raw sugar cane to Mumias sugar company. Residents of this division are also small scale cattle and bee keepers as well as fish keepers.
The people of Butere have traditionally been small scale farmers planting sorghum, millet and vegetables which they traded with their neighbours from south Nyanza with fish from Lake Victoria.
The introduction of maize saw a change of stable food from ugali made from soghum to maize meal.
The district is inhabited 17 subtribes, amongst them Abamarama/Abamukhula, Abatere, Abashirotsa Abashisa, Aberecheya and Abachenya. The Marama's most popular dance is the lipala dance and eshiremba (a funeral ceremony dance performed by Abashibanga clan) which seems to be vanishing with modernity. The Marama have been very close to the Wanga and the Wanga king Nabongo Mumia was a son to a Marama woman.
The politics of Butere have been dominated by clan rivalries. Martin Shikuku the area MP since independence represented the constituency with short breaks until he was ousted by Jesse Eshikhati Opembe in 1988 who served briefly until his death. Then former University of Nairobi Lecturer, Dr. Amukowa Anangwe in the 1997 general elections. Anangwe was however in 2002 ousted by flamboyant Wycliffe Oparanya whose popularity was boosted by his youth soccer programme in the division.
The 2007 elections were won by Wyclif Oparanya as the constituency seemed to abandon Musikari Kombo's Ford Kenya in favour of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) now led by Prime Minister and Langata MP Raila Odinga. This was evidenced by an apparent rush by most politicians to troop to the party among them former Minister Dr. Amukowa Anangwe, Businessman Justus Anyanga Wanekeya and Arch. Mohammed Munyanya. The March 2013 elections will see clan rivalries emerge again.
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Wikipedia