Meru North District


Meru North District was one of the unconstitutionally created districts of Kenya, located in that country's Eastern Province. In 1992, it was split from the large Meru District, along with Meru Central District, Meru South District, and Tharaka District. Since the Supreme Court's decision in September 2009, Meru North is again part of Meru County.
The area of Meru North District is the home of the Ameru tribe, which is sometimes described as being related to other tribes living around the Mount Kenya region: the Kikuyu and the Embu people. The Ameru are generally called "Bantu" people who have been native to the Mt. Kenya area for many, many years — well before colonization of Kenya by Great Britain in the 19th Century. The people are now predominantly Christian — Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and other denominations, reflecting the work of missionaries — with also minorities of Indian descent, who are mainly Hindus, and African/Arab descent, who are Muslims. There are also has some resident Europeans predominantly British in ancestry.
Meru is well known for its production of khat, known locally as miraa, and its supply to the rest of the country's major towns.
Because of the rich soils in the area, this plant thrives and most of the residents benefit from its sale. Trading in this commodity is a boon to other vendors, for example it stimulates the sale of banana leaves to miraa traders to protect the khat harvest from drying.
The district headquarters was in the town of Maua. There were four constituencies in the district: