County finance and local livelihoods
Participants examined Kisumu County's KES 5.9 billion in pending bills and the pressure delayed payments place on small businesses, suppliers and traders in Jubilee and Kibuye markets.
Kisumu citizen engagement forum
Kisumu
Speaks.
A public conversation about county accountability, citizen safety, economic pressure and the political road to 2027.
Watch the full town hall ↗
LocationAga Khan Hall
Kisumu, Kenya
FormatCitizen town hall
Public questions · moderated dialogue
Public recordFull session available
Presented by Political Headache
Executive summary
What citizens experience must enter the public record.
Policy becomes meaningful when it meets life as people live it.
Face The Nation brought citizens, informal-sector actors, young people and public voices into one room to examine Kisumu County's socio-economic and governance direction—and its relationship to the wider national landscape.
The discussion moved beyond political headlines. It connected county finances to small-business survival, public safety to urban resilience, and national political realignment to the choices citizens will face before 2027.
The accountability question
KES 5.9BKisumu County pending bills discussed in the room—and the consequences delayed payments can carry for suppliers, micro-enterprises and market livelihoods.
What the room examined
Five questions of public consequence.
The forum connected immediate local pressures with the institutional and political choices that will shape Kisumu's next chapter.
Safety and urban resilience
Citizens raised concerns about safety in urban centres and called for practical public infrastructure, responsive institutions and community-led approaches to security.
Kisumu Rise
The forum considered Kisumu Rise as a citizen-led platform for renewal—organised around inclusion, public safety and an economy that works more reliably for residents.
Political transition and 2027
The room debated the Broad-Based Government, ODM's changing national role and what institutional reform and emerging leadership could mean on the road to the 2027 election.
Youth work and the digital economy
Young participants focused on sustainable work, digital literacy and realistic online income pathways, including the Gold Mine resource developed for African youth.
Watch the public record
Kisumu Speaks About Ruto, Linda Mwananchi and ODM.
Watch the full Face The Nation discussion as it happened at Aga Khan Hall.
From the room
Citizens, questions and the work of listening.
A visual record of arrival, participation and public exchange. Select any photograph to view it in full.
01A public forum shaped by the people in the room.
02Citizens arrive and register at Aga Khan Hall.
03Different generations and lived experiences share the same floor.
04A citizen puts his question directly to the room.
05Moderation keeps the conversation focused on public consequence.
06Face-to-face exchange between the floor and the forum.
07Lived experience enters the public record.
08Listening is treated as part of public accountability.
09The room follows a contribution from the panel.
10Competing views are heard and tested in public.
11The audience remains an active part of the conversation.
12The microphone moves through the room—not only across the stage.
13Panel and public share one civic forum.
Face The Nation