UTI AND KIBOKO: The Tale of Two Estates Divided by Class But United by Time

Along the quiet banks of the Chania River and just off Thika’s Kenyatta Highway, in a place where the hum of industry fades into the rustle of riverine trees, lie two neighbouring estates living in quiet harmony. 

Two neighbouring estates whose destinies were never meant to intertwine, but somehow did. UTI Estate and Kiboko Estate, different in design, class and original purpose but now stand co-joined by circumstance, a shared testament to Thika’s post-industrial urban evolution.

UTI Estate

UTI Estate was born in the late 1970s to early 1980s, during Thika’s golden age of industrial expansion. It derived its name from the United Textile Industries (UTI), one of Kenya’s key textile factories at the time.  UTI was one of several parastatal or privately-run textile factories situated in Thika's industrial belt—alongside companies like Thika Cloth Mills (TCM), Spinners & Spinners, and Kenya Taitex Mills (KTM).

The estate was planned as a staff housing zone, built to accommodate factory workers, machine operators, clerks and supervisors. 

Located within walking distance of the UTI factory and neighbouring Thika Cloth Mills (TCM), it offered functional, no-frills housing that reflected its utilitarian purpose.

Originally inhabited by employees recruited from across the country, UTI Estate symbolised Kenya’s promise of industrial jobs, stability and company-sponsored welfare. However, with the liberalisation of the economy in the 1990s and the decline of local manufacturing, the factory collapsed—and so did the company’s direct control over the estate.

What followed was a slow but steady transformation. The estate gradually opened up to the general public. Many original homes were sold off or converted into rentals. Today, UTI is a mixed-income neighbourhood, hosting a blend of original factory families, casual workers, artisans, small traders and students from nearby colleges like Amboseli Institute.

Yet despite its modest outlook, UTI has retained a unique identity, one built on resilience, history, and the working-class spirit that once powered Thika’s industries.

Kiboko Estate

Right next to UTI lies a very different kind of estate, Kiboko Estate, developed slightly later in the mid-to-late 1980s. Kiboko was designed for a different demographic altogether - Thika’s elite and upper-middle class, including senior civil servants, parastatal managers, business owners and professionals seeking private, secure and executive living. Most of them purchased plots or housing units with the intention of long-term settlement, bringing a sense of permanence and community ownership to the estate.

The estate was named "Kiboko", Swahili word for hippopotamus, because it sits near the banks of the Chania River, once believed to be a watering point for hippos before the area was fully urbanised. 

It was one of Thika’s first gated community-style estates, characterised by individually owned and fenced compounds, wide internal roads, controlled access points and elegant landscaping and low-density planning.

Today, Kiboko Estate maintains its reputation as a quiet, well-organised and semi-gated community. Most significantly, Kiboko became renowned for its elaborate and vibrant Residents' Association, one of the first in Thika.

The association took charge of sanitation, infrastructure, security and dispute resolution, long before such structures became common. That community management gave Kiboko its unique, almost suburban feel, a private oasis away from the noise of town or industry.

To this day, Kiboko remains one of the most admired and posh estates in Thika, a symbol of status and quiet success. While some homes have undergone modern renovations or vertical development, the estate’s core identity as a quiet, gated, and disciplined neighbourhood remains intact.

Population Estimates

UTI Estate has an estimated population of between 1,500 – 2,500 people, based on the number of original housing units (many now subdivided or converted into rentals), informal infill development, and density patterns typical of working-class estates.

On its part, Kiboko Estate is estimated to host about 700 to 1,200 people. The lower population is due to larger individual plots, fewer multi-unit structures and low-density design typical of gated estates.

Combined, the two estates have an estimated population of approximately 2,200 - 3,700 residents.

Registered Voters

Both estates fall under Kiboko Primary School, the main (and only) IEBC polling station within the area.

Kiboko Primary Polling Station typically registers between 700 to 1,000 voters, depending on redistricting and ward registration patterns.

These votes are shared between UTI Estate, Kiboko Estate, and possibly a few surrounding households of  Chania Garden Estate, Madharao Slum (Goshen) and some staff at Amboseli Institute or fringe industrial housing.

The estimated number of voters from both estates is approximately 600-900 registered voters or less.

Area Coverage

UTI Estate occupies an approximate land area of 20 to 30 acres, while neighbouring Kiboko Estate spans about 25 to 35 acres. Combined, the two estates cover a total area of approximately 45 to 65 acres (equivalent to 18 to 26 hectares).

Two Estates, One Reality - Co-joined by Circumstance

Though born of contrasting visions, UTI and Kiboko Estates are today inseparable neighbours, linked not only by geography but by daily life and urban necessity.

Both lie within Kimathi Sub-location, Biashara Location and the Municipality Division of Thika Town Constituency. Politically, they fall under Hospital Ward in Kiambu County.

Both share Kiboko Primary School, the only public school in the area, which also serves as the main polling station for residents of both estates.

Both depend on the same road networks, bodaboda riders and nearby commercial services.

The contrast?

UTI reflects working-class heritage, affordable housing, and informal economic activity. Kiboko projects order, prestige, and controlled development, a haven for those seeking peace and privacy.

This contrast makes their coexistence even more fascinating. One estate rose from industrial necessity, the other from executive ambition. But in the urban landscape of modern Thika, they now represent two sides of the same coin, each with its own role, identity and contribution to the town’s social fabric.

Conclusion:

As Thika continues to grow and undergo urban transformation, estates like UTI and Kiboko will face new pressures: land demand, densification, infrastructure stress, and housing policy shifts. Yet, their histories offer important lessons.

From UTI’s legacy of industrial housing to Kiboko’s pioneering of community-driven estate governance, both estates reveal what Thika once was, and perhaps, what it still aspires to be: a town of layered identities, shared spaces, and coexisting dreams.

In the end, UTI and Kiboko are not just neighbours by chance, they are partners in Thika’s living story, co-joined by circumstance, enriched by difference and anchored in place.