Torochmoi, Moiben, Uasin Gishu County

 By William Kiptoo


In the early 1970s, Moiben in Uasin Gishu County was part of Kenya’s post-independence land redistribution program. Large settler farms were subdivided and allocated to local families, creating new settlements. Among these was the area that would later be known as Torochmoi.

As part of the resettlement plan, essential amenities were set aside, including a new school to serve the children of the farming families. Initially, this school and settlement had no formal name.

A story is told that in 1978, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, then Vice President of Kenya, visited the new settlement and its school. Moi was a local son of the Rift Valley, and his rise in national politics carried symbolic weight for communities in Uasin Gishu and beyond.

It is said the residents gave Moi a warm welcome, and in appreciation, they chose to name the school Toroch Moi. In the local Kalenjin language, Toroch means “welcome.” Thus, Toroch Moi literally translates to “Welcome Moi.”

This act of naming was both a gesture of respect and a way of anchoring the settlement’s identity in Kenya’s political history.

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