Lessons from Shofco on holding elections, community ownership

This week, I had the privilege of attending what most of my readers will not be familiar with, but which resonates extremely well in Kenya’s vitongoji duni. This was the SUN elections in Migori County. SUN stands for Shofco Urban Network, Shofco’s community network that boasts at least 1.5 million members, largely low-income, informal settlement dwellers and members of rural peasantry.

I have interacted with Shofco and its energetic and visionary boss, Kennedy Odede, he of the 2025 Mandela Prize fame, for years. Shofco, short for Shining Hope for Communities, started as an NGO in the Kibera slums where Odede was born and grew up. Its mission was to uplift the lives of the forgotten, working with communities to facilitate better education, especially for girls, health and access to water and sanitary infrastructure.