Kisumu is one of Kenya’s only four cities. One would therefore expect it to be busy 24hrs a day. But that is not the case.
Visitors who have been to the city in the past few months have found it rather strange. Apart from the four or five-star hotels within the city centre, they have struggled to get a restaurant where they can have a proper meal after 8.30 pm. Getting an M-Pesa shop to withdraw or deposit cash, a chemist to buy drugs or a public service vehicle is equally a nightmare.
It is around 8.30 pm, and businesswoman Evelyn Atieno wants to withdraw Sh5,000 from an M-Pesa agent to pay her three employees. But she cannot find any open on Oginga Odinga Street, which is Kisumu’s main street.
This “peculiar habit” of the lakeside city sleeping early and waking up late got many Kenyans talking on various social media platforms last week.
Ms Lucianne Limo, who visited Kisumu recently, was surprised by this phenomenon.
Most businesses that operate overnight are nightclubs, which offer opportunities for taxis, boda boda riders and those involved in selling snacks to revellers.
Towns expansion
Acting City Manager Abala Wanga believes that the situation gives satellite towns an opportunity to expand.
“Kisumu is expanding and the CBD is ok with the quiet and serene environment for the hotels there. We have a major plan that will see the likes of Kondele continue to thrive as 24-hour-economies,” said Mr…
