Judge Kevin Osido.
Channel: Top35 Under35
Date: 12/08/2020

He was a judge of the Exemplary Leadership Catergory. 
#YouthoftheYear2020, #Top35Under35KE

Kevin Osido serves as the Executive Director of County Governance Watch (CGW), an non-Governmental Organization (NGO) whose purpose is to provide solutions for socio- economic, political and sustainable development in the counties of Kenya by educating and building the capacity of citizens and County Government officers. CGW offers platforms for engagement in strengthening the county governance systems and making the voices of the people count in the management of their resources and decision making processes of their affairs; while working with communities to provide solutions to the question of constitutionalism, good governance, leadership and democracy. CGW considers youth, women and Persons with Disability (PWDs) as key components of its programming. CGW has established the County Governance Index (CGI) which assesses levels of performance for County Governments in health, water, education, agriculture and infrastructure.


Kevin is a Governance Trainer and Media Resource Person who has generated knowledge in governance, leadership and social development processes in Kenya, East Africa and the Great Lakes Region, where he serves as the National Chairman of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Civil Society Forum of the Kenya Chapter and the Conference’s Regional Chairman representing 12 countries in the Democracy and Good Governance Thematic area. Kevin has been a member of the Adjunct Faculty at the Kenya School of Government (KSG) and also served as an Advisor of the second cohort of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Regional Leadership Center, East Africa. He has consulted for Kenya’s Council of Governors through UNICEF as the main Facilitator for the Children’s Devolution Conference, where – in 2018 and 2019 – His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta received Memoranda developed at the children’s level.

Beyond his passion in peace and security where he rallies young people towards zero radicalization through the Defend My Future Campaign for preventing and countering violent extremism; he is keen in driving service delivery through public participation spaces in Kenya’s County Governments. Kevin has vast experience in working with Kenya National and County Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, development partners and local community networks. He has engaged with about 33 county governments to strengthen the voices of the marginalized through citizen driven networks known as Citizen Action Groups (CAGs). These are geared towards the establishment of County Youth Action Plans (CYAPs) that are aimed at identifying effective models of youth engagement in public resource allocation and use. These platforms have been critical in identifying, nurturing and profiling young leaders who influence and shape the youth agenda in governance and leadership for effective and efficient public resources use for all citizens, while establishing a strong youth agency/ network that lobby governments and advocate for accountable service delivery in water, agriculture, health, infrastructure, quality education and meaningful work opportunities towards county own source revenue and sustainability.

His negotiation and advocacy skills, including his passion for the youth of Kenya is evidenced by his ability to engage with the Ministry of Devolution and ASAL, through a proposal he shared, to support about 300 youth delegates to attend the 6th Annual Devolution Conference in Kakamega County, a practice that has now been adopted by the Council of Governors (CoG), through the Youth Committee of the Council, where Kevin is also a member of the Technical Committees for the Devolution Conferences – by invitation from CoG. As a Youth Advocate, he has also facilitated many platforms for the youth that bring together national and county government youth champions; including organizing the 2018 International Youth Day Celebrations at the Kenya National Assembly graced by the Cabinet Secretary – Ministry of Public Service, Gender and Youth Affairs, Speakers of both houses, various government agencies with youth interest among others. The forum brought together about 890 youth leaders from the 47 Counties. Kevin holds a first degree from Daystar University (Kenya), a Master’s of Science degree in Governance from the International Leadership University (Kenya) and a certificate in Public Policy from the University of Cape Town (South Africa).