I have fond memories of growing up in Nyandarua back when it was a District of Central Province. Nyandarua is mainly inhabited by “new comers” who relocated from other Districts of Central Province, mainly Kiambu, Muranga and Nyeri.
Before Kenya attained independence in 1963, large parts of Nyandarua were occupied by British Settlers who owned huge chunks of land since the early 1920s. They occupied the land from the foot of the Aberdare Ranges, stretching all the way to Naivasha, Nyahururu and extending as far as Nakuru. That is how the area came to be known as the White Highlands. The frigid temperatures of Nyandarua must have reminded the British Settlers of their Homeland, England, a country that stays bone chilling cold for the better part of the year.
After Kenya attained independence in 1963, the British Settlers who owned the land in the thousands of acres, reached an agreement with the newly formed Kenyan government. The Settlers were to vacate the land and get compensated once the locals purchased and developed the land through some government issued loans. That is how settlement schemes were formed in various parts of Nyandarua, subdividing the land and letting locals purchase parcels of land according to their ability.
