Brenda Misore M.D

After Watching Babu Owino's presser yesterday, I resend to him the following open note that I wrote to him on 3rd October 2025: A Brotherly Note to Babu Owino -------------- By Joshua Odhiambo Nyamori In every generation, a few young leaders rise with fire in their voices and courage in their veins. They defy power, electrify crowds, and declare that the future belongs to them. Babu Owino is one such figure. His brilliance, his energy, his ability to command his generation’s imagination are undeniable. He is gifted, a bright star with the potential to inspire and to lead. But, my younger brother, potential is a double-edged gift. It can blossom into destiny, or collapse into ruin under the glare of the stage. Kenya has walked this road before. Fiery student leaders once stood where you stand today - rising fast, grabbing headlines, only to fade into the margins of history. Their voices echo still, not as legacies, but as cautionary tales. This is not dismissal. It is a plea. You stand at a dangerous crossroads. GPO Oulu, Joseph Kioko, Moses Oburu, Hassan Omar Hassan, Fwamba Nc. Fwamba, Oscar Omoke, Karl Marx Owiro, Kabando wa Kabando, David Osiany, Karl Marx Owiro CC, Governor Cecily Mbarire, Cyprian Nyamwamu, Willis Memo, Ochieng Tix, Ochieng Kanyadudi, Mwandawiro Mghanga, Tito Andugosi, Suba Churchill and even yours truly - all once carried the torch you now hold, at different levels. Even towering figures like James Orengo and Anyang’ Nyong’o were once tested in this same crucible. Some transformed their fire into purposeful leadership. Others were swallowed by the very chaos they commanded. Each has a story to tell - of triumph, of mistakes, of redemption. Seek their counsel, brother. Learn from their scars as much as from their victories. Kenya is changing. The age when chaos could buy political currency is passing. Disorder may once have drawn attention, but it cannot create jobs or put food on the table for the youthful crowd you are driving into frenzy. The future belongs to those who choose discipline over drama, dialogue over disruption, and dignity over violence. True leadership is not measured by how loudly one shouts, but by how wisely one guides. Brother Babu, I write not with malice, but with care. Many see in you the possibility of greatness, beyond your current platform. But they also see the shadow of self-destruction if you remain surrounded by those who cheer the spectacle but ignore its cost. And to your supporters, I dare say: blind applause can be as dangerous as open hostility. Urging a leader towards chaos may thrill for a moment, but it risks consuming him, and you, with equal force. If you truly love him, guide him towards growth, not ruin. The stage is already his. The question is: will Babu Owino etch his name in gold - or let it scatter, forgotten, into dust? #KisumuRISE

#KisumuRISE was born because leadership failed where the people needed it most. When streets remain dark, markets struggle, public land is threatened, estates deteriorate and ordinary residents must run to court simply to be heard, something is wrong. Much of what Kisumu RISE is doing - representation, oversight, demanding answers and defending public resources - is what citizens elect leaders to do. But when leadership falls silent, the people do not lose their power. Article 1 of our Constitution reminds us that sovereign power belongs to the people. Article 3 places upon every Kenyan the responsibility to respect, uphold and defend that Constitution. That is why we came together under #KisumuRISE: LISTEN. DOCUMENT. ORGANISE. ACT. Today, more than 8,000 volunteers are already organised across Kisumu Central. If every volunteer maintains only ten meaningful relationships within their family, neighbourhood, workplace or community, our organising capacity already extends to more than 80,000 citizen contacts. Our target is to deepen and expand that network to at least 140,000 citizen contacts before the 2027 elections. These are not crowds assembled for an afternoon. These are relationships being built street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, market by market - people who can listen, organise and act long after the microphones have gone. And our message to leadership is simple: stand with the people, serve the people and account to the people. Those who cannot must make way for those who can. If you believe Kisumu can be better, do not watch from the sidelines. Join the structure. Bring your ideas. Bring your community. Take your place. Kisumu must rise from its people. #KisumuRISE #TogetherWeCan

Today, on behalf of KISUMU RISE, I submitted our Memorandum on the Kisumu County Markets Bill, 2026, to the County Assembly of Kisumu. We support modern, clean, safe and productive markets. But development must expand livelihoods - not extinguish them. A new building is not progress if the trader who sustained that market is displaced, impoverished or replaced by a connected beneficiary. Our Memorandum draws from complaints collected through KISUMU RISE structures and the painful experiences of traders in Kibuye, Jubilee, Nyamlori and across Kisumu. It proposes amendments guaranteeing: no displacement without livelihood restoration; commercially viable temporary space; the first right of return; secure and renewable tenure; recognition of informal traders; transparent stall allocation; trader representation; independent appeals; humane enforcement; and accounting for every shilling collected from our markets. This is not resistance to development. It is a demand for lawful, inclusive and economically intelligent development—where government can build and citizens can survive and prosper through the building. I call upon traders, workers, customers, business associations, professionals and every resident of Kisumu to read this Memorandum, circulate it and demand its adoption. Markets are not merely structures. They are livelihoods, families and the heartbeat of our city. KISUMU RISE! TOGETHER WE CAN! #KisumuRISE