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Kisumu
Skyline of Kisumu, viewed from Lake Victoria
Kisumu
Coordinates: 0°6′S 34°45′E / 0.1°S 34.75°E / -0.1; 34.75
Country	Kenya
Region	Nyanza region
County	Kisumu County
Government
• Mayor	Sam Okello (ODM) [1]
Elevation	1,131 m (3,711 ft)
Population (1999)
• City	322,024
• Urban	194,390
Time zone	EAT (UTC+3)
Twin cities
• Roanoke, Virginia	USA

Kisumu is a port city in western Kenya at 1,131 m (3,711 ft), with a population of 355,024 (1999 census). It is the third largest city in Kenya, the principal city of western Kenya, the immediate former capital of Nyanza Province and the headquarters of Kisumu County. It has a municipal charter but no city charter. It is the largest city in Nyanza region and second most important city after Kampala in the greater Lake Victoria basin.

The port was founded in 1901 as the main inland terminal of the Uganda Railway and named Port Florence. Although trade stagnated in the 1980s and 1990s, it is again growing around oil exports.

Kisumu literally means a place of barter trade "sumo". The city has "Friendship" status with Cheltenham, UK and "sister city" status with Roanoke, Virginia and Boulder, Colorado, USA.

History[link]

Kisumu was identified by the British explorers in early 1898 as an alternative railway terminus and port for the Uganda railway, then under construction. It was to replace Port Victoria, then an important centre on the caravan trade route, near the delta of River Nzoia. Kisumu was ideally located on the shores of Lake Victoria at the cusp of the Winam Gulf, at the end of the caravan trail from Pemba, Mombasa, Malindi and had the potential for connection to the whole of the Lake region by steamers. In July 1899, the first skeleton plan for Kisumu was prepared. This included landing places and wharves along the northern lake shore, near the present day Airport Road. Demarcations for Government buildings and retail shops were also included in the plan.^[2]

Another plan was later prepared in May, 1900, when plots were allocated to a few European firms as well as to Indian traders who had travelled to Kisumu on contracts to build the Uganda Railway and had decided to settle at the expanding terminus. The plan included a flying boat jetty (now used by the Fisheries Department). In October 1900, the 62-ton ship Sir William Mackinnon,1st Baronet, built and registered in Kisumu, made its maiden voyage to Entebbe, marking the beginning of the Lake Marine Services. The Winfred and the Sybil were later added to the fleet in 1902 and 1904, respectively. On Friday, December 20, 1901, the railway line reached the Kisumu pier, with the centre adopting a new name, Port Florence.

By February, the railway line had been opened for goods and passenger transportation. Kisumu was also privileged to host the first flight in East and Central Africa; the current police workshop was the first hangar in Kenya and entire East Africa. Before the jet airline era, the city was a landing point on the British flying boat passenger and mail route from Southampton to Cape Town. Kisumu also linked Port Bell to Nairobi.^[3]

In the meantime, it was realised that the site originally chosen for the township north of the Nyanza Gulf was unsuitable for the town's expansion, due to its flat topography and poor soils. An alternative site was therefore identified and the town's location moved to the ridge on the southern shore of the Gulf, where the town sits today. Consequently, another plan was prepared in 1902, which provided the basic layout of the new town on the southern ridge. This was followed by the construction of a number of Government buildings, notably the former Provincial Commissioner's Office (now State Lodge) and the Old Prison (now earmarked for the construction of an Anglican Cathedral).^[4]

In 1903, the township boundaries were gazetted and some 12,000 acres, including water, set aside for its development. The new township reverted to its original name, Kisumu, in substitution of Port Florence. At this time, there was an ‘Old Kisumu', that consisted of two rows of Stalls (Dukas) on Mumias Road, north of the Gulf. It was later demolished in the twenties when new plots became available on Odera and Ogada Streets in the present day Kisumu, hence the new area acquired the name ‘New Bazaar'.

By the 1930's and 40's, the city had become a leading East African centre for Commerce, Administrative and Military installations. In the 1960’s the population of Asians in relation to Locals was significantly higher. The town was elevated to the status of a Municipal Board in 1940 and later to a Municipal Council in 1960. In the early sixties, very little development took place in Kisumu, with an acute shortage realized in dwelling houses, shops and offices. The situation was later made worse by the influx of locals into the town following the declaration of independence in 1963.^[5]

The city’s growth and prosperity slowed down temporarily in 1977, as a result of the collapse of the East African Community. However, the city spurred with the reformation of the community in 1996 and with its designation as a "city." The port has been stimulated by the transformation of international business and trade, as well as the shipments of goods destined for Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Currently, Kisumu is one of the fastest growing cities in Kenya. It is thriving with rich sugar and rice irrigation industries, whose contribution to the National economy is immense due to its natural resources and as the epicentre for business in East Africa.

Sights[link]

Jomo Kenyatta Stadium

Attractions in the city include Kibuye Market, the Kisumu Museum, an impala sanctuary, a bird sanctuary, Hippo Point, and the nearby Kit Mikaye and Ndere Island National Park.

Kisumu Museum[link]

Kisumu Museum, established in 1980, has a series of outdoor pavilions. Some of the pavilions contain live animals. For example, one pavilion contains numerous aquaria with a wide variety of fish from Lake Victoria, along with explanatory posters. Another pavilion contains terrarium containing mambas, spitting cobras, puff adders and other venomous Kenyan snakes. Additionally, out of doors, the museum has a few additional exhibits, including a snake pit and a crocodile container.

Other pavilions show weaponry, jewellery, farm tools and other artifacts made by the various peoples of the Nyanza Province. Additionally, there are exhibits of stuffed animals, birds and fish. One pavilion houses the prehistoric TARA rock art, which was removed for its own protection to the museum after it was defaced by graffiti in its original location.

The museum's most important and largest exhibition is the UNESCO-sponsored Ber-gi-dala. This is a full-scale recreation of a traditional Luo homestead. Ber-gi-dala consists of the home, granaries and livestock corrals of an imaginary Luo man as well as the homes of each of his three wives, and his eldest son. Through signs and taped programs in both Luo and English, the exhibition also explains the origins of the Luo people, their migration to western Kenya, traditional healing plants, and the process of establishing a new home.

Kisumu Impala Sanctuary[link]

Kisumu is the location of the Kisumu Impala Sanctuary. Measuring just 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²), the sanctuary is one of Kenya's smallest wildlife preserves. As its name suggests, it is home to a herd of impala. Some hippos, as well as many reptiles and birds are also present. Additionally, several caged baboons and leopards who faced difficulties of one sort or the other in the wild are held in cages there. Over 115 different species of birds live there.

Hippo Point[link]

Hippo Point is a 600 acres (240 ha) viewing area on Lake Victoria. Despite its name, it is better known as a viewing point for its unobstructed sunsets over the lake than for its occasional hippos.

Hippo point is near the village of Dunga, a few kilometres SW of the town. The village also has a fishing port and a camping site.

Kit Mikayi[link]

Kit Mikayi, a large rock with three rocks on top, and is located off Kisumu Bondo Road towards Bondo. Kit-mikayi means “Stones of the first wife” or “First Wife Rocks” in Dholuo, the Luo language. It is a weeping rock; it is believed that Mikayi (literally, "the first wife") went up the hill to the stones when her husband took a second wife, and has been weeping ever since.

It has become a popular local pilgrimage site for adherents of the Legio Maria sect who come to the rock to pray and fast for several weeks at a time.

Imperial Hotel[link]

Imperial Hotel is a 4 star Hotel in the heart of Kisumu. Along Jomo Kenyatta Highway, this Landmark has been watching over Kisumu's CBD since 1985.

Transport[link]

Kisumu Harbour. The green vegetation is water hyacinth

Before the jet airline era, Kisumu was a landing point on the British flying boat passenger and mail route from Southampton to Cape Town. Kisumu linked Port Bell and Nairobi.

Kisumu is served by Kisumu Airport, with regular daily flights to Nairobi and elsewhere. Plans to expand the airport in anticipation of increased trade brought about by the recreated East African Community of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are already in high gear with works expected to be complete within the next decade.

Lake Victoria ferries have operated from the port linking the railway to Mwanza and Bukoba in Tanzania, and to Entebbe, Port Bell, and Jinja in Uganda.

President Kibaki launched a Ksh. 6.8 billion road project for a major overhaul of Kisumu's road network on July 24, 2009.^[6]

Rail and air accidents[link]

Douglas C-47 plane operated by South African Air Force crashed into Lake Victoria soon after taking off from Kisumu Airport on July 11, 1945. All 28 on board died.^[7]

Two serious railway accidents occurred near Kisumu in the 2000s.

The first took place outside Kisumu on August 15, 2000. The brakes on the train failed, causing it to roll. Thirteen people were killed and 37 received injuries. The second took place on the morning of October 16, 2005, when a matatu (taxi minibus) was struck by a passenger train. Six people died and 23 more were injured. After that there have been accidents in its major towns with notable black spots: Ojola/Kisian, Kisat bridge, Ahero, Sondu, Awasi just but to mention a few.

Notable natives and residents[link]

The term used to refer to a resident of Kisumu is jakisumo (plural, jokisumo). Notable jokisumo include

• Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, politician, the first Vice-President of Kenya
• Raila Amolo Odinga, politician, son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya's prime minister
• Robert Ouko, politician and son of Kisumu Nyahera who was abducted from his Koru, Kenya home. His charred body was found later.
• Vinodrai Joshi Of Kisumu Sweet Mart.

Kenyan Counties[link]

• Kisumu Town is now the new headquarters of the newly created Kisumu County in the new Counties of Kenya.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kisumu Municipal Council
• Kisumu Museum
• Kisumu County
• Kenyan Counties Map
• Kisumu
• Kenya Wildlife Service – Kisumu Impala Sanctuary
• Boulder Kisumu Sister City Committee

Coordinates: 0°6′0″S 34°45′0″E / 0.1°S 34.75°E / -0.1; 34.75

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