Dr. David W.O. Oremo, CEO of Acacia Foundation and the Siaya Climate Change Initiative, has emerged as one of Siaya County’s most influential — and relentless — governance reform advocates. His passion for climate justice is inseparable from his push for accountable, people-centered governance, a conviction forged on the frontlines of global conflict and institutional failure.
Oremo is currently pushing for the establishment of the Siaya County Green Investment Authority.
Since 1999, Dr. Oremo served with various United Nations agencies across multiple countries, where he witnessed how weak governance, systemic suppression, and economic exclusion directly undermine peace and stability. His defining chapter came between 2015 and 2017 in Maiduguri, North East Nigeria, at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency — a conflict that ravaged the Nigeria–Cameroon–Chad tri-border region.
Tragedy struck on January 31, 2017, when his elder brother, Surveyor Moses Odhiambo Oremo, leading a UN-supervised international border demarcation team following an ICJ ruling, was killed alongside colleagues in a Boko Haram ambush near Koncha, Cameroon — an incident formally recorded by the United Nations.
That loss redirected Dr. Oremo’s life. Returning home, he resolved to honor the fallen through advocacy that links climate action, peace, and governance.
In Siaya, this resolve has translated into tangible institutional pressure.
His sustained push for Village Development Councils (VDCs) — grassroots governance units anchored in public participation — has compelled the Siaya County Assembly to reassess its role and compliance with the national Climate Change Act adopted in 2022.
Through the Siaya County Climate Change Forum, a public-facing platform he leads, Dr. Oremo has fostered structured dialogue between citizens, non-state actors, and county leadership. The County Government of Siaya has formally acknowledged these deliberations, recognizing their growing policy relevance.
His advocacy has now yielded a major breakthrough: the Executive arm of the County Government is preparing to formalize collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding. Dr. Oremo has been tasked with drafting the MoU, which will undergo review by the Directorate of Governance & Administration and the Office of the County Attorney.
Previously representing the Forum at the Foreign Policy Mashinani Initiative and Transparency International’s Usawa Mashinani Initiative, Dr. Oremo has steadily positioned Siaya as a test case for devolved climate governance.
At the heart of the initiative is a proposed Steering Committee bringing together the County Executive, Assembly, and non-state actors — a bold experiment in co-creation and accountability.
For Dr. Oremo, the lesson is clear: climate resilience begins not with policies alone, but with governance that listens, includes, and acts.
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