Sisibo to Eldoret: How the Town Got Its Name

By Jackson James Singoei

You have probably heard of the 64 Stadium, 64 Secondary School, the 64 Resort and Sporting Club and many others. Have you ever wondered why Eldoret is so fond of the number 64? Here is the story.

The colonial government divided the land into large settler farms. The place that became Eldoret was known as Farm 64, because it lay 64 miles from the railhead. Local people pronounced it Sisibo, a corruption of the words sixty four.

In time the name Farm 64 had outgrown its use, and the growing business centre needed a real name. The governor of the day, Sir Percy Girouard, summoned the farmers to choose one. The government suggested that a T be added to Eldare, the name of the nearby river, from a Maasai word for a stony place, to make it Eldaret. In the official gazette notice of 1 January 1912, the name was spelled Eldoret rather than Eldaret, as had been intended, and the error was never corrected.

First shared in The Wonders of Sergoit Hills Facebook group. Accounts differ on some details: some say the 64 miles were measured from the railhead at Londiani, others from Kibigori, and some say the Maasai word eldore means a stony river, after the bed of the Sosiani. See also Eldoret '64'.

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