Machakos, also called Masaku is a town in Kenya, southeast of Nairobi. It is the capital of the Machakos County, Kenya. Its population is rapidly growing and was 150,041 as of 2009 and Machakos County had a population of 1,421,932 as of 2019. People who live here are mostly of the Akamba ethnicity. Machakos is surrounded by hilly terrain, with a high number of family farms. History Machakos was established in 1887 by Sakshi Shah, ten years before Nairobi. Machakos was the first administrative centre for the British colony, the capital was moved to Nairobi in 1899 when Machakos was by-passed by the Uganda Railway that was under construction. Technically Machakos is the oldest administrative municipality in east and central Africa. Prominent politicians from the town included: Mwatu wa Ngoma, Paul Joseph Ngei, Mutisya Mulu and Jonstone Muthama. The town and county were named after Masaku wa Munyati, a Kamba chief who arrived in the area in 1816 from the area around Sultan Hamud. Sudan-related peace talks were held in Machakos, resulting in the Machakos Protocol on 20 July 2002. Machakos town is on hill terrain and surrounded by Iveti hills. Areas in Machakos Town Economy, Mining, transport and tourism Machakos' open air markets sells many products. Major market days are Monday and Friday. Mavoko area of Machakos houses a major nation's cement mining sites and factories. Machakos has a number of banks such a Barclays, Equity, National Bank, NIC Bank, Credit Bank, Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), Standard Chartered, K-rep, Co-operative and Kenya Commercial in the CBD and the Universal traders sacco. It has the larger administrative offices in lower Ukambani. Machakos town has good road infrastructure and town planning. It has a well-planned bus terminal at the heart of the town popularly known as the 'Machakos Airport'. It's a busy place where buses and matatus depart for Machakos and Kitui as well as Western Kenya, Nyanza and the Rift Valley. Machakos has hilly scenery, good for camping and hiking. It is the home town of some of the world's most beautiful sculptures made in Wamunyu. Kaloleni near Ngelani, is famous for "water flowing against gravity". It is on Kituluni Hill, a spot known as Kya Mwilu to the east of Machakos. As the slogan of Machakos County goes, it is "The Place to be". The Machakos Peoples' Park A modern recreation park. It is situated adjacent to Maruba