Кенияның Кісуму қаласы

City in Kisumu County, Kenya

Kisumu (/k//iː/'/s//uː//m//uː/ keeSOOmoo) is the third largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and Mombasa. It is the second largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The metro region, including Maseno and Ahero, has a population of 1,155,574 people (560,942 males, 594,609 females and 23 intersex) according to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census which was conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Apart from being an important political city, it is one of the premier industrial and commercial centres in Kenya. It is also an intellectual city with many PhDs per capita. The city is currently undergoing an urban rejuvenation of the downtown and lower town which includes modernizing the lake front, decongesting main streets, and making the streets pedestrian friendly. Culturally, Kisumu serves as the centre of the Luo people of East Africa. It was the most prominent urban centre in the pre colonial, post colonial, and modern eras for natives of the Kavirondo region. It was briefly renamed Port Florence, before its name was reverted back. The city serves as the capital of Kisumu County and was the immediate former capital of now defunct Nyanza Province. It is an important link in the trade route between Lake Victoria and Mombasa because of its water and rail connections. It is also the chief terminus for the agricultural produce of Nyanza and Western regions. Kisumu International Airport has regular flights to Nairobi and other neighbouring cities such as Mombasa. According to the United Nations, Kisumu is now recognized as a key city and a "Millennium City" – the first of its kind in the world and also in East Africa. Kisumu's elevation is and is about northwest of Nairobi, on the shores of Lake Victoria. It lies at the northeastern edge of the Winam Gulf, a long, shallow arm that protrudes from the main body of Lake Victoria. Kisumu is south of the equator and has, due to its elevation, moderate temperatures. The metropolitan region comprises the city and its suburbs and satellite towns of Maseno, Kondele, and Ahero.

When Europeans first settled in the area in the late 19th century, Kisumu became a trading post – attracting Luo people from as far as Migori and Siaya County. The Kisumu region was then occupied by the Luo community. A person going to Kisumu at that time would say, "Adhi Kisuma" to mean I'm going to trade. Derived from the word "Kisuma", the word for a trading post in Luo is "Kisumo", and in Nandi, "Kesumett". The current name Kisumu is an English corruption of the word "Kisumo" or "Kesumett". An opposing theory states that Kisumu acquired its name from 'Kusuma', the Maragoli word for 'trading'. Because, before Luo arrived in the area, the Maragoli were already trading with other people in the area like the Nandi and the Maasai. Some Luo words were acquired from the Maragoli.

Kisumu City is believed to be one of the oldest settlements in Kenya. Historical records indicate that Kisumu was dominated by diverse communities at different times long before Europeans
arrived. The people from the Nandi, Kalenjin, Kisii, Maasai, Luo and Luhya communities 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 Nandi called it "Kisumett" which means a place where food was found during times of scarcity and exchange, which cannot be attacked by Nandi and Terik irrespective of any issue. Industries are centred on processing agricultural products, brewing, and textile manufacturing. Asians once constituted more than one fourth of the population, but declined after independence in 1963. 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 the Nzoia River. 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, and Malindi and had the potential for connections to the whole of the Lake region via steam ships. In July 1899, the first skeleton plan for Kisumu was prepared. This included landing places and wharves along the northern lakeshore, near the present day Airport Road. Demarcations for government buildings and retail shops were also included in the plan. 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. A later plan included a flying boat jetty (now used by the Fisheries Department). In October 1900, the 62 ton ship SS William Mackinnon was reassembled and registered in Kisumu, and made its maiden voyage to Entebbe, marking the beginning of the Lake Marine Services. The SS Winifred (1901) and the SS Sybil (1901) were later added to the fleet in 1902 and 1904, respectively. On Friday, 20 December 1901, the railway line reached the Kisumu pier, adopting a new name, Port Florence. By February 1903, the railway line had been opened for goods and passenger transportation. Kisumu was also privileged to host the first flight in Kenya; the current police workshop was the first hangar in Kenya. 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. 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 is 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). By the 1930s and 40s, the city had become a leading centre for commerce, administrative and military installations. In the 1960s 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 in housing, shops and offices. The situation was made worse by the influx of locals into the town following the declaration of independence in 1963. and are also fluent in Dholuo, the local language of the Luo, Kenya's fourth largest ethnic group, to which 90% of Kisumu residents belong.

Kisumu has highly fertile land and variations in temperature and rainfall with two rainy seasons per year across the region provide a suitable environment for a broad range of agricultural crops. The Kisumu region has approximately 1.6 million hectares of agricultural land. However, it is estimated that only 58 percent of the land is currently used. The majority of farming in the lake basin region is subsistence agriculture, leading to relatively low production volumes. Current crop yields are considered to be significantly lower than the potential afforded by soil and climate conditions. Current low land utilisation and yields are driven by the lack of guaranteed markets and associated support services. Like agriculture, livestock farming is currently performed primarily on a subsistence basis. Cattle are predominantly indigenous breeds with lower milk output than grade cattle.

The Kenyan part of Lake Victoria covers approximately 400000 hectares (4,100 square kilometres), with of lake shoreline; most of this shoreline is under used.

Attractions in the city include Kibuye Market, Oile Market, the Kisumu Museum, an impala sanctuary, a bird sanctuary, Hippo Point, shopping malls and the nearby Kit Mikaye and Ndere Island National Park. Although Kisumu has modernized over the years, it still maintains an old town feel, especially on the outskirts, and the culture is still very ingrained. Unreliable source: date=January 2023

On the main street of Kisumu city, Oginga Odinga Road, a tall town clock stands in the middle of the road. It was unveiled on 19 August 1938 by the then Governor of Kenya Sir Robert Brooke Popham. The town clock was built in memory of Kassim Lakha, who arrived in East Africa in 1871 and died in Kampala in 1910. It was erected by his sons Mohamed, Alibhai, Hassan and Rahimtulla Kassim, as the inscription on the Town Clock reads.

Kisumu Museum, established in 1980, has a series of outdoor pavilions laid out in a formation similar to that of a Luo homestead. 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 a terrarium containing mambas, spitting cobras, puff adders and other venomous Kenyan snakes. Outside, the museum has a few additional exhibits, including a snake pit and a crocodile container. Other pavilions show weaponry, jewellery, farm tools and other artefacts of the various peoples of 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 is the location of the Kisumu Impala Sanctuary. During British rule, the Impala Park sanctuary was called Connaught Parade. Measuring just , the sanctuary is one of Kenya's smallest wildlife preserves. As its name suggests, it is home to a herd of impala, some hippos, and many reptiles and birds. Additionally, several baboons (monkeys) and leopards who faced difficulties in the wild are housed in cages. Over 115 different species of birds live there.

Hippo Point is a 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 located near the village of Dunga, a few kilometres southwest of the city. The village also has a fishing port and a camping site. Kisumu is represented in the nationwide rugby league by Kisumu RFC. The city is also host to a leg of the national rugby sevens circuit, one of only six city hosts. The Kisumu leg is referred to as the Dala sevens and the annual tournament attracts thousands of fans from across the country.

Former president Mwai Kibaki launched a Ksh. 6.8 billion road project for a major overhaul of Kisumu's road network on 24 July 2009. The city is connected to the cities of Nakuru, Nairobi and Mombasa via the A104 highway and to the city of Eldoret via the B1 highway. A Lake Victoria ring road along the shores of the lake is currently under construction and will pass by the city. The cause of the accidents is currently thought to have been the katabatic wind condition which often affects Kisumu in the early morning. Two serious railway accidents occurred near Kisumu in the 2000s. The first took place outside Kisumu on 15 August 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 16 October 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 to mention a few. The Busia Kisumu highway is becoming increasingly congested, posing risks to road users. The County Government of Kisumu has been urged to consider dualizing the roads to prevent accidents that have claimed numerous lives and caused lasting physical and psychological harm to motorists and pedestrians.

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples : Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu (Catholic Church),Jesus celebration centre(JCC international) Anglican Church of Kenya (Anglican Communion),((Citam Church Kisumu)) Presbyterian Church of East Africa (World Communion of Reformed Churches), Baptist Convention of Kenya (Baptist World Alliance), Assemblies of God. There are also Muslim mosques and a Hindu temple

The book "Kisumu" by Okang'a Ooko tells the story of the musicians of Kisumu (2018). Some of the events in the 2017 story "Consummation in Mombasa" (by Andrei Gusev) take place in Kisumu. The plot describes the Catholic wedding of the main characters (Russian writer Andy and Jennifer) in Mombasa and their trip to Kisumu, where Jennifer was born. The song "Kisumu" (by Zack Okello) talks about how Kisumu is growing (2015).

The city has "Friendship" status with Cheltenham, in the United Kingdom. Kisumu's sister cities are Roanoke, Virginia and Boulder, Colorado, in the United States.