Kisumu International Airport in western Kenya has a new air traffic control tower, commissioned on 14 September 2026 by President William Ruto. The eight-storey building replaces a colonial-era tower that had been in use at the airport for 53 years.
According to the State Department for Aviation and Aerospace Development, whose Principal Secretary, Teresia Mbaika, attended the commissioning, the tower is fitted with ICT, communication and surveillance systems meeting international standards. Controllers working from it have an unobstructed 360-degree view of the runway, the apron and aircraft movements, which the department links to safer and more efficient operations at the airport.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority was represented at the ceremony by its board chairman, Brown Ondego, and its acting Director General, Nicholas Bodo. Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum Opiyo Wandayi and Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi also attended, together with the Governor of Kisumu County, Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o, the Governor of Homa Bay County, Gladys Wanga, and the members of parliament Junet Mohamed and Millie Odhiambo Mabona.
Kisumu is described by the State Department as an aviation and logistics gateway to western Kenya and to the wider East and Central African region, and the department expects the tower to support the airport’s growing operations.
