The settlement Malaba sits across the Malaba River, which forms the international border between Kenya and Uganda. Thus, there is a Malaba town in Kenya and an adjoining Malaba town in Uganda.

Train travel

From Nairobi, it is possible to travel to Malaba, Kenya on the old meter-gauge railway, which was built when both Kenya and Uganda was under British colonial rule. The railway crosses the border and continues on the Ugandan side.

The meter-gauge railway was built during the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is today in deplorable condition due to a lack of maintenance. Before you make any traveling plans to Malaba, we strongly suggest you check on the current situation for the railway, since there might be stretches that are no longer functioning.

Plans have been drawn up for the creation of a new standard-gauge railway between Nairobi and Malaba, but before those plans can be put into action an agreement must be reached between Kenya and China. If this railway becomes a reality, it will make it possible to travel on the modern standard-gauge railway (SGR) all the way from the port city Mombasa in eastern Kenya to the Ugandan border, since there is already a working SGR from Mombasa to Nairobi.

Where is Malaba, Kenya?

In Kenya, the town Malaba is located in the sub-county Teso North, within the county Busia in the Western Province.

Coordinates: 0°38′07″N 34°16′31″E

Altitude: 1,180 meters above sea level

The nearest larger city is Eldoret, located almost 130 km to the east by road.

Road access

Malaba is located on the highway that runs from Kenya’s capital Nairobi to Uganda’s capital Kampala.

The town also sits on the main Bujumbura-Mombasa highway, also known as the Northern Corridor, which connects the capital cities of the countries Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya with each other and with the Indian Ocean (at the Kenyan port city Mombasa).