None of the rules of a democratic poll were respected in the vote, organised by two comedians chanting pro-Obama slogans and carrying cardboard ballot boxes across the city, capital of the region where the US presidential candidate's late father was born.
'Obama is leading,' said Lawrence Onyango, a ballot box strapped to his neck. 'The turnout is huge. The crowd was overwhelming.' Around 1,500 voters had cast their ballots by noon and Mr Obama looked poised to trounce his republican rival John McCain, he said, adding that the tallying process would start later in the day.
'There are a lot of people on the Obama side, but McCain is also getting some votes,' said Milton Obote, the second poll organiser, named after a former Ugandan dictator.
'We organised these elections to bring peaceful celebration no matter the outcome,' Mr Obote told AFP.
Nicolas Okoth, was a rare resident who confessed to casting his ballot for McCain: 'The whites helped us, they colonised us, brought us education and know-how... I support Obama but you can't vote for two people,' he laughed.
Kisumu was badly hit by the violence that swept Kenya following the disputed December 27 elections and many were enjoying the joke Tuesday, knowing that their vote would have no consequences.
'He is going to win. It will not be like ours here,' Dominic Onyango said, referring the chaotic tallying process which failed to convince Kenyans whicvh of the two rivals, the opposition candidate Raila Odinga, who also hails from the Kisumu region, and incumbent president Mwai Kibaki had really won the poll. -- AFP