title: Witu, Kenya
text: # Witu, Kenya
  
  Witu is a small market town in the Lamu County of Kenya, East Africa. Formerly it was the capital of Wituland.
  
  ## Location
  
  It is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of the Witu Forest. It is on the Garsen–Witu–Lamu Highway (C-112) between Mkunumbi, 33 kilometres (20.5 mi) to the east, and Garsen, 44 kilometres (27.3 mi) to the west. A secondary road leads 21 kilometres (13.0 mi) south to Kipini on the coast. The coordinates of Witu, Kenya are: 2°23'20.0"S, 40°26'16.0"E (Latitude:-2.388897; Longitude:40.437769). The average elevation of the town is about 22 metres (72 ft).
  
  ## Population
  
  As of September 2013, the population of the town was estimated at 5,380.
  
  ## Wituland
  
  Witu was the centre of an inland empire of approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi). It was inhabited by slaves fleeing the Zanzibar slave trade, and was thus a target of attacks from the Sultanate of Zanzibar, circa 1850.
  
  