Kerugoya is the biggest town in Kirinyaga County. Kerugoya is located 10 kilometres east of Karatina and 40 kilometres west of Embu. It is situated in the former District of Kirinyaga. Travel directions by road from Nairobi, is through Thika road past Thika, Kenol and Makuyu. The road leads through Makutano until Sagana town, where a road branches off the East towards Kagio town up to Kirinyaga University branching North towards the town. You can also drive through the Plains of Mwea branching east at Makutano, famous for the largest rice irrigation scheme in Eastern Africa, passing numerous communes inhabited by the Kikuyu, majority of whom practise Subsistence farming. Kerugoya town mostly serves as an urban area to the inhabitants of Kangaita, Kimunye, Kagumo and Karia.
Name
The word is Kerugoya comes from Kikuyu words 'Kiri-guoya' which means 'The fearful '. The place was formerly covered with thick bushes and when the whites arrived in the villages, they named the so-called 'Kithaka kiri guoya'. Hence the modern name Kerugoya.
Administration
Kerugoya forms a local authority together with another township, Kutus. It is known as Kerugoya/Kutus municipality. The municipality has a population of 39,441, of whom 14,056 are classified urban. The municipality has six wards: Kerugoya Central, Kerugoya North, Kerugoya South, Kutus South, Kutus Central and Nduini. Most of these wards belong to Kerugoya/Kutus Constituency. Kerugoya was also headquarters of the former Central division of Kirinyaga District.
Kerugoya is the biggest town in Kirinyaga county in terms of area, population, business capacity and amenities. It is associated as economic hub of the region given the big arable farms held by local farmers: Tea, coffee, macadamia and others food stuff are among the crops grown in the upper area, as the region is most suitable for farming. To support agricultural and dairy farming there are several agro-vet business and officers from the Ministry of Agriculture. There are various banks. This shows good performance economically. Milk production in Kirinyaga county is on the rise with many farmers favoring dairy farming for its handsome rewards. Kirima Slopes Co-operative Society buys milk from farmers and then sells it to Brookside Dairy. In the year 2014, the cooperative society which is a community-based initiative received Ksh.89 million as payment for milk sold to Brookside company.
Transport
When traveling from Nairobi, the capital city, Kerugoya town is easily accessible by use of public service vehicle. it costs an average of 250 to 300 KES and it typically takes about 2 hrs of travel at a legal speed limit of 80 km/h. Mostly these vehicles are located in Tea Room and Nyamakima bus stages. The widely used Saccos are as follows: KUKENA, Supreme Shuttle, 2NK or Private vehicle etc. Kerugoya has multiple gas stations such as Total, Kobil, and National Oil.
