6 Things to Know About Ongata Rongai

You cannot be Kenyan if you have never heard of Ongata Rongai town, popularly known as just Rongai or Ronga. It is a favourite subject by savvy social media users always creating ridiculous memes about it, mostly about its distance from Nairobi town. History Ongata Rongai is a peri-urban settlement at the outskirts of Nairobi located in Kajiado County and is situated 17 km (10.6 mi) south of Nairobi town. Although largely located within Nairobi metropolitan, it does not fall within the administrative boundaries of the city and is separated from Nairobi city proper by the Mbagathi River. It is divided into two administrative locations, Nkaimurunya and Rongai, which are separated by the Magadi road. Historically occupied by the Maasai people, present-day Ongata Rongai grew from a meeting of a cattle market in the northernmost tip of Kajiado County and the quarry township in present-day Kware. The cattle market and the quarry spread rapidly and joined in the late 1950s. Community The Maasai people occupy majorly the rural parts of Rongai where they still practice their major economic activity, livestock rearing. However, the town has a diverse population due to its proximity to Nairobi. Economy Ongata Rongai is mostly dominated by middle-income earners and is…