Kitale Museum

The Kitale Museum is a regional museum located in Kitale, Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya. Operating under the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) network, it holds the distinction of being the first regional museum to be integrated into the national system. In February 2024, it became the first national museum in the country to transition to the management of a county government under the Kenya devolution framework. While it maintains a technical partnership with the NMK, the facility is currently managed by the Trans-Nzoia County Government, which oversees its daily operations, budget, and staff.

The museum originated from the private collection of Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Stoneham established in 1926 and was officially nationalized in 1974. It features natural history exhibitions and ethnographic displays including traditional Kenyan homesteads.
Following Stoneham's death in 1966, the collection was bequeathed to the Kenyan government on the condition that a permanent museum be established in Kitale. In 1974, the facility was officially nationalized and opened to the public as the first regional...