Kahawa is a mixed-use settlement spanning the Kiambu and Nairobi county borders along Thika Road.
Despite its proximity to the city, half of it is administratively in Ruiru, while some parts, such as Kenyatta University, Kahawa Barracks, Kiwanja and Githurai 44, are administratively in Kasarani.
Originally a coffee growing region, the Kahawa region is generally subdivided into four electoral wards as follows: The Kahawa Barracks area (which partly forms the border with Nairobi County) was the site of a British Army base before Kenya's independence[2] and now hosts the Kahawa Army Base of the Kenyan Army.
[3] Kahawa lies to the north of Githurai, another inter-county suburb and settlement along the Kenya-Uganda Railway.
In 2016, this town started to be served by suburban trains of the Nairobi rail service.