Higher learning institutions in history have been known to cause a paradigm shift in making of urban centres and this can be said of Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Kapenguria Campus.
The institution has undoubtedly become the heartbeat of Kapenguria Municipality.
The campus has enlivened Kapenguria from the once less vibrant town majorly identified for its administrative functions and the historical standpoint for being host to the independence struggle luminaries otherwise known as the Kapenguria Six.
The Municipality encapsulates Makutano Shopping Centre, which is the busiest business centre that almost confuses many who think the area is not part of Kapenguria Town.
KMTC Kapenguria Campus started in the 1980s but remained dormant until 2013, when the county government allocated 100 million for construction and equipping of tuition blocks leading to its official opening in 2015.
The campus has since then transformed the municipality owing to its contribution towards the change of the town from an agricultural-based economy to a commercial and residential entity, forcing landowners to think outside the box.
According to the Institution’s Principal Allan Inchaminya, the campus received its first intake of 50 students pursuing Diploma in nursing and since then its population has increased to 1638 to date and courses offered from one to eleven.
“The college has plans to increase student population to 2000. This dream has been made true by the support from West Pokot County Government which recently handed over the formerly Aramaket ECDE College to Kapenguria KMTC now dubbed Kapenguria KMTC Annex Campus,” the Principal disclosed.
He highlighted that the college is planning to introduce four more courses in the March 2025 intake namely; Diploma in Orthopedics and trauma medicine, Diploma in Emergency Technology, Diploma in Medical Sociology and Upgrading Community Health Assistant.
The institution has a bed capacity of 80 students only meaning the bulk of the population seeks accommodation from outside the campus which triggered to local investors to engage in provision of private accommodation services to host the students.
It is the largest higher learning institution in the entire county in terms of students’ population since there is no university or national polytechnic which in most cases have been known to attract huge numbers of students, boosting the economic bases of the areas they are located.
“Most towns in our country have experienced drastic transformations with the advent of higher learning institutions because they attract a lot of investors and new business opportunities. We also need a higher learning institution like a national polytechnic or a university to help tap the existing abundant land resources,” says Jackson Losiwa, a native of the town.
Losiwa like other residents within the municipality observe that Kapenguria Town is destined to expand into one of the largest towns in the North Rift region courtesy of its abundance in land resources and strategic location along the busy Kitale-Lodwar-South Sudan Highway.
“We still have people owning more than 20 acres of land within the municipality. If this land is turned into commercial entities, then we are going to have a city in the near future,” he argues.
A look through within Kapenguria Municipality, one will witness the once free land spaces now being occupied by residential houses undoubtedly targeting students.
The upsurge of learners and the expansion of the college’s admission base has resulted into real estate opportunities, where most land owners who have originally been maize farmers apportioning some of their pieces for rental houses construction.
Despite the emergence of estates being attributed to the advent of devolution in 2013 where Kapenguria was made the West Pokot County Headquarters, students from the medical college forms the bulk of the tenants owing to the limited accommodation spaces at their institution.
The main street leading to the county headquarters is always a beehive of activities especially in the mornings, lunch hours and evenings as students who are non-residential troop to and from the campus premises located close to the Kapenguria County Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Surrounding villages that were dull and dimmed such as Aramaket, Siyoi, Bendera and Kakrut are full of life as the college is in session most parts of the year and the utility of the land has suddenly changed from being fully agricultural to commercial attracting buying and selling of plots.
West Pokot County Physical Planning Director Hamilton Bett says the land use system is changing tremendously and there have been increased applications for the change of land utility prompting the lands department to come up with a 10-years Kapenguria Municipal zoning plan for 2025-2035 that was approved this month.
“In fact, the department of Lands, Physical Planning, Housing and Urban Development just approved a blanket zoning plan for Kapenguria Municipality converting some areas into residential and commercial use owing to the increased piecemeal applications by land owners on change of land system,” explained Bett.
He noted that the municipality has been largely an agricultural zone but owing to the increasing commercial activities, some parts had to be zoned to accommodate different land use thus saving the residents from the pains of applications.
“We had realized that most of the land owners within the municipality were subdividing their lands into smaller portions so that they establish some areas especially those closer to Kapenguria and Makutano areas into residential and commercial utilities which led to numerous changes of land use applications,” pointed the Physical Planner adding that undoubtedly the shift will upscale the land value.
The scarcity of residential facilities has been made a bit expensive with a single room going for an average of Sh.3,500 depending on the proximity to the institution.
County and National government employees who are not land owners are also paying a little higher in rental charges unlike before when the demand for houses was a bit low.
“I secured my plot over a decade ago but had never thought of coming up with rental houses because of shortage of tenants. With the increased number of KMTC students I have been forced to put up some units since the demand for housing is quite steady,” said Jacob Lomeri, an entrepreneur in the housing industry.
He foresees the institution changing the growth pattern of the town that had been skewed towards Makutano Shopping Centre which lies on the western side of the county headquarters.
Initially land within the municipality could be sold or bought in terms of acres but it has now shifted to plots where an acre was cheaper as compared to a plot which goes into millions according to the current market rates.
Those familiar with the history of the town say those who secured land then are now reaping benefits from their then ‘meagre’ investment.
“Hosting students is steadier and more reliable because on a small plot one can have several house units that accommodate even two students in a room. This puts an increase on the payment per room,” say hostel owners at Kakrut area, less than a kilometre from the institution.
The biggest challenge around the institution is that the huge chunks of land is owned by the public and is undeveloped hence students have to walk some distance to get into the privately owned land where owners have started establishing hostels in earnest.
Some students trek to as far as Makutano Shopping Centre (West) and Siyoi area (East) which are about 5kms away from the institution thus opening up another business opportunity in the transport sector.
“The students have brought a bodaboda business boom because some have to use motorbikes to get to and from the college because they prefer not to walk for kilometres. When the college is out, we always experience a nosedive in our business,” says Rodgers Kiptoo, a bodaboda rider.
Those from Makutano areas pay Sh.100 whereas those from near areas such as Bendera, Sakas and Mama Watoto pay Sh.50 one way hence a proliferation of bodaboda riders.
Residents laud the government for the street lighting programme that has seen some areas opened for safe residence unlike before when safety was a major issue.
“A place called Sakas is now a haven of safety and students feel now very safe because the place is very well-lit courtesy of the street lighting hence our movement at night is assured,” narrated a student, Pamela Nafula.
In the food and hospitality industry, one or two food kiosks that used to serve majorly civil servants and members of the public seeking government services have expanded their capacities with many other mushrooming eateries leave alone mobile food vendors owing to the increased customers, majority KMTC students.
Those who started food kiosks with a few benches such as Catherine Chebii popularly known as Cathy, now have had to upgrade their businesses because of the number of customers, majority being students. “The business booms when the students are in session but when on holiday, we usually experience low seasons,” says Cathy.
The shift in customer trend has forced some to expand the shades and get more furniture with others providing tables and seats for open air catering under small shades during the peak lunch hours.
The kiosks operators explain that the expansion in the food kiosks has forced them to hire more work force unlike a few years ago where they would only need two to three hands.
“Our food kiosk is now providing many youths with employment opportunities with many more making applications to join us. With the ever-increasing student population, we might be forced to create separate compartments for serving civil servants and members of the public to reduce the congestion,” stated Cathy.
However, residents decried water challenges lamenting most of the rentals survive on boreholes and spring water.
“We depend on drilled water at our areas of residence and the water is not very safe for drinking. We have to buy drinking water from water vendors which sometimes bring a big burden to us students,” noted Nafula.
The residents anticipate better water services once the Multi-billion Siyoi-Muruny Dam water project is implemented and operationalized.
According to the Ministry of Water, the dam has an 8.9 million cubic metres storage capacity and is anticipated to supply 38,880 cubic metres of water per day with the area governor Simon Kachapin reiterating that the move will be mitigation towards water shortages in Kapenguria municipality and surrounding regions.
While officially commissioning 80 new stalls at Bendera Market in Kapenguria, the Governor emphasized that the market’s strategic location near the KMTC campus will boost the local economy by providing a steady customer base for traders.
“The proximity of the market to the KMTC campus offers a strategic location that will drive economic activities by improving access to essential goods and services,” he said.
By Richard Muhambe