HISTORY

Kisumu is a port city in Kisumu County of Kenya. It has a population of 409,928 (2009 census). It is the third largest city in Kenya, the principal city of western Kenya and also headquarter of Kisumu County. 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. 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.