Kisumu
| Kisumu | |
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  Kisumu
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country |  Kenya |
| Province | Nyanza Province |
| District | Kisumu District |
| 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 capital of Nyanza Province and the headquarters of Kisumu District. It has no municipal charter. It is the largest city in Nyanza Province 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.
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Sights
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
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
Kisumu is 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
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
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 Legio Marians who come to the rock to pray and fast for several weeks at a time.
Transport
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[2].
Rail and air accidents
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.[3]
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
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, a politician and a son of Kisumu Nyahera who was abducted from his Koru, Kenya home and his body later found charred in what appeared to have been a burning incident. The killers havent been officially brought to book, though everyone mentioned adversely has either vanished from the scenes or just died.
- Omieri - The Famed Python This was a snake perceived to be a god by the residents of 'Nyakach' and was revered. It was fed and cared for like a king would be.
See also
- Railway stations in Kenya
References
- ↑ The Standard, July 9, 2009: Kisumu mayor retains seat by a vote
- ↑ New Kisumu Road Project
- ↑ Aviation Safety Network – Aircraft accident Douglas C-47A-1-DK
External links
- Kisumu Municipal Council
- Kisumu Museum
- Kenya Wildlife Service – Kisumu Impala Sanctuary
- Boulder Kisumu Sister City Committee
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