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The Story of Eldoret Town – How A Spelling Mistake Led To Its Birth

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Ranked as the fifth most populated urban area in Kenya today after Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Ruiru, Eldoret was founded in 1910.

According to an excerpt from the book 'On the Wings of a Sparrow' by G. Sang & H. Kili, Willie van Aardt was granted block no. 64 (now Eldoret) but found it unsuitable to farm.

The Post Master General Mr J. Gosling toured the area and determined that land as suitable for a post office and set about to construct one.

Curiously, the land was also exactly 64 miles from Londiani and so it was that the place was named Sixty-four. However, after Governor Sir Percy Girouard came to visit in 1912, the settlers suggested to him that the town be named after him.


Some said it should be called ‘Girouardfontein’ maintaining the Afrikaner naming culture. Girouard declined saying that his French name would be difficult for the British (and Afrikaner) settlers to pronounce let alone the natives - (the ‘d’ is silent).

The fact that they wanted the town named after him shows that he was an instant celebrity among the Afrikaners many of whom had French Huguenot roots. His wife, however, was the reason he was popular. She was Afrikaner by birth.

While the name ‘64’  or Sisibo to the locals was quite popular, it was not considered as were the other suggested names - Farm 64, Bado Kidogo and Sosiani.  Another popular name was Sirikwa – the name of an ancient tribe that once occupied the Plateau but which disappeared – some say into Southern Africa. Their name also failed to be considered.


Finally, the town was named after the nearby Eldare River – now, River Sosiani. ‘Eldare’ is a Maasai name that translates to Stony River.

The settlers, however, added the letter ‘t’ after the name ‘Eldare’ so as to make it sound more like a Nandi name. Nearly every noun in Nandi language ends with the consonant ‘t’ – something the settlers found very curious.

And so Eldaret it was! A spelling mistake in the gazette notice that appeared in January 1912, gave the town the name Eldoret. Nobody bothered to correct it and so it has been like that ever since.


This account of the Story of Eldoret is based on an excerpt from the book ‘On the Wings of a Sparrow’ written by G. Sang & H. Kili.

Baoriat Agencies is committed to helping you find the best place for you to settle in Eldoret town. We walk you through the entire process of acquiring your own property in Eldoret until it has been transferred into your hands

To learn more about buying a property in Eldoret, 

Call 0721-554937

WhatsApp  https://wa.me/0721-554937  

Email evekibet@gmail.com or 

Visit us at  Juma Hajee Building room number 16, Eldoret town 

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