KISUMU

 The Commission’s Kisumu Regional Office hosted Ms Easter Oketch, Executive Director of the Kenya Female Advisory Organisation, for a partnership engagement on joint action on gender equality, social inclusion and the protection of the rights of special interest groups. 

KEFEADO brings grassroots experience in human rights, gender equality and community mobilisation, and remains an important partner in converting equality commitments into action at community level. 

The engagement examined emerging equality and inclusion concerns in Kisumu, including the exposure of young people to recruitment and exploitation by organised criminal networks. Participants traced how unemployment, economic exclusion, limited opportunity and social vulnerability intersect with gender inequalities, leaving young women and men open to manipulation, violence and exploitation.

The meeting also considered concerns raised about the marginalisation and limited participation of members of the Muslim community in Kaloleni-Shauri Moyo Ward, Kisumu Central Sub-County, particularly in access to and participation in public processes. The Commission will continue engaging communities and stakeholders to establish the facts and identify practical pathways to meaningful inclusion.

The two institutions committed to revitalising the Equality and Inclusion Technical Working Groups in Kisumu and Siaya counties, and explored the establishment of a Kisumu County Situation Room for the 2027 electoral period to strengthen monitoring, information-sharing, stakeholder coordination and timely response to emerging equality and inclusion concerns.

With the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission implementing its 2025 to 2027 Election Operations Plan, preparations for the General Election scheduled for 10 August 2027 are already under way. The Commission will continue working with stakeholders to identify and remove the barriers that keep special interest groups out of public and democratic processes.