Kefa M. Otiso is a Professor of Geography at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA. His research interests are in urbanization, globalization, international migration, development, environment, governance, and cultural change in the context of Africa and North America. He teaches a variety of courses in urban, economic, population, and cultural geography, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications. He was the founding president of the US-based Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA) and is a former Commissioner on Ohio’s New African Immigrants Commission. He is a past editor of the African Geographical Review and has presented papers at many national and international conferences including those organized by the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association, American Association of Geographers, African Studies Association, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. He is a frequent media commentator on US, Kenyan, and other international news outlets. He is also the author of Culture and Customs of Tanzania (Greenwood Press, 2013) and Culture and Customs of Uganda (Greenwood Press, 2006), co-author of Population Geography: Problems, Concepts, and Prospects (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2013), co-editor of African Immigrants and the American Experience: Race, Anti-Black Violence, and the Quest for the American Dream (Lexington Books, 2023) and Debating African Issues: Conversations Under the Palaver Tree (London: Routledge, 2022), and author of many refereed and journal articles, book chapters, and editorials.
Addiction/drugs/drug policy, Caste discrimination or persecution, Child soldiers, Climate-related issues, Coercive population control, Deportees/criminal deportees, Disability, Ethnic discrimination or persecution, Female genital mutilation/circumcision/FGC, Forced conscription, Forced marriage, Gang-related violence/non-state actors, Gender-based violence/domestic violence, Healthcare access/health systems capacity, HIV/AIDS, Journalist persecution, Land tenure disputes, Likelihood of destitution or homelessness, Mental illness, Military/police service, Political persecution, Prison conditions, Religious discrimination or persecution, Government/state actor persecution, Risk of retaliation, Safe internal relocation, Sexual abuse/assault, Specialized medical services, Torture, Trafficking, Tribal discrimination or persecution, Violence against children/child abuse
I have written 21 expert country reports (mostly on Kenya) for US and UK refugee and asylum cases. The cases touched on issues like religious and political persecution, FGM, mental health access, and the treatment of people with disabilities.
THESE ARE BOOKS ONLY: Culture and Customs of Uganda (2006), Culture and Customs of Tanzania (2013), African Immigrants and the American Experience: Race, Anti-Black Violence, and the Quest for the American Dream (2023, Co-Ed), Population Geography: Problems, Concepts, and Prospects (2013, Co-author), Debating African Issues (2022, co-ed)