Kapsowar

Kapsowar is a small-town Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya. In 1994 Kapsowar became the headquarters of the former Marakwet District. Prior to this, the Marakwet and Keiyo tribes were collectively grouped into the Elgeiyo-Markwet District. In 2010, the two districts were again merged into Elgeyo-Marakwet County. The Marakwet number approximately 200,000 and a part of the Kalenjin family of tribes, which collectively are the second-largest ethnic group in Kenya.

The town is located between the Kerio Valley and the Cherangani Hills and sits at an elevation of 7,500 feet (2,300 meters). The land surrounding Kapsowar is very fertile and the elevation creates a mild climate with a temperature range of 70-85 °F (21–29 °C). Kapsowar has a population of 9152 (1999 census, total population of the Kapsowar location). AIC Kapsowar Hospital, established by Africa Inland Mission in 1933, is largely responsible for the degree of development presently seen in the town.

Kapsowar is largely populated by the Marakwet, a Kalenjin sub-tribe. The original inhabitants of Kapsowar originate from different clans. Among the most prominent are Kapterik, Talai and Kapswahili. The Kapswahili originally immigrated from Tanzania and more or less were absorbed by the Kapterik clan. Although there have been high rates of intermarriage among the Kapswahili, most have retained their Swahili names. The Talai and Kapterik are rival clans with the former being predominantly Protestant and the latter Catholic. They also tend to support rival candidates in parliamentary and local elections. There are cultural, political and religious differences between the Kapterik and the Talai clans as mentioned before. These are assumed to have been preexisting for a long time before the arrival of Christian missionaries. The kapterik are a large clan who have relatives both in Kapsowar and neighbouring areas as well as down to the underlying Kerio Valley. Those on the valley would migrate to the larger Kapsowar area because of the mild climate and better possibilities of farming and livestock keeping. This was though to the displeasure of the Talai because this meant a competition of available resources with the immigrants.

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