Our Mission
to transform the City of Kisumu, through collaborative partnership, into a better place to live, work and visit
Our Objective
Our main objective is to Promote, Uphold and Protect the highest standards of Urban Areas Governance, Service Delivery, Business Leadership and Ethics in the City of Kisumu for the benefit of our membership
Our Vision
to be the leader in Urban Areas & Cities regeneration through inclusive proactive approach in sustainable urban growth and development.
THE CITY OF KISUMU
HISTORY OF KISUMU
The City of Kisumu is believed to be one of the oldest settlements in Kenya. Historical records indicate that Kisumu has been dominated by diverse communities at different times long before the white man arrived. The people from Nandi, Kalenjin, Abagusii, Maasai, Luo and Abaluhya community converged at the tip of Lake Victoria and called the place "sumo" which literally means “a place of barter trade”. Each community called it different names, for instance;
- The luo called it “Kisumo” meaning “a place to look for food” such that the luo would say "I am going "Kisuma" to mean "I am going” to look for food".
- The Abaluhya called it "Abhasuma" which means " a place to borrow food" such that the luhya would say "I am going "Khusuma" to mean "I am going " to borrow food"
- The Abagusii called it "'egesumu'" meaning "a structure for keeping/ rearing chicken". It is believed the Abagusii were in Kisumu but found Kisumu was not good for crop husbandry and agriculture.
The First white settlers in the late 19th century could not pronounce the local dialects “Kisumo”, "Khusuma" or "Kisuma". They therefore corrupted the name to the current name “Kisumu”. It was identified by the British explorers in 1898 as an alternative railway terminus and port for the Uganda railway to replace Port Victoria which was by then an important centre on the caravan trade route near the River Nzoia delta.
On Friday, 20th December 1901, the railway line reached the Kisumu pier and Mrs. Florence Preston (the wife of the railway engineer) drove the last nail in the last sleeper by the shores of Lake Victoria. The centre adopted a new name called Port Florence. However it was only called Port Florence for a year, and then it reverted back to its earlier name of “Kisumu”. It was elevated from a Town to a Municipal Board in 1940 and later to a Municipal Council in 1960. It was designated as a "city’ in 1996 but was NEVER awarded a City Charter. In 2006, it became the first to be designated as an “UN Millennium City” in the entire world. Section 60 of The Urban Areas and Cities Act no. 13 of 2011 which came to effect on immediately after the general elections of 4th March 2013 created the City of Kisumu.
CITY OF KISUMU TODAY
Today the City of Kisumu is the third largest City in Kenya, the Principal City of West Kenya Region and the Headquarters of the County Government of Kisumu. It is also the second most important city after Kampala in the greater Lake Victoria basin, the gate-way to East & Central Africa and the Commercial Capital of the East African Community. The City of Kisumu host the Secretariat of the Lake Victoria Economic Bloc that brings together 13 Counties of the Republic of Kenya.
In 2006, the City of Kisumu became the first to be designated as an “UN Millennium City” in the entire world. The World Bank 2016 survey report listed the City of Kisumu as having the best business environment and most Investor-friendly City in Kenya (World Bank Report 2016)
