Eric Omondi leads campaign to reduce Kenya’s counties from 47 to 8
By Katemarthason Okudo, September 7, 2026Comedian and activist Eric Omondi has intensified his campaign to reduce the country’s 47 counties to eight, as he continues collecting signatures in support of proposed constitutional changes.
In a video shared online on Monday morning, September 7, 2026, Omondi was seen at the Archives in Nairobi collecting signatures for his Punguza Mzigo campaign.
He urged Kenyans to support the initiative, saying the campaign would continue at the Archives in the Nairobi Central Business District until Friday. “We are going to reduce the counties from 47 to eight. It will happen. We will be at the Archives CBD until Friday,” Omondi said.
Omondi targets one million signatures
The campaign aims to collect one million signatures in support of a constitutional referendum.
Omondi says the proposal would see the current 47 counties reorganised into eight larger regional units, reflecting the eight former provinces that existed before the 2010 Constitution introduced the current devolved system.
The campaign is also calling for the removal of several elective and nominated positions, including senators, Women Representatives and nominated parliamentary seats.
The proposals are based on Omondi’s argument that Kenya has too many layers of leadership, which he says increase the cost of running government. As of Monday, the campaign claimed to have collected about 450,000 signatures.
Plan to cut cost of government
Omondi has linked the proposed changes to reducing government expenditure and redirecting the savings towards public services.
According to the campaign, removing some of the positions and restructuring the counties would reduce administrative costs. The money saved, Omondi argues, could instead support free education from primary school through university.
The proposal is not new. In August 2024, Omondi was involved in a similar push calling for the number of counties to be reduced from 47 to eight and for positions such as senators and Women Representatives to be abolished.
The current campaign, however, comes as the country moves closer to the 2027 General Election, with Omondi seeking to build public support for the proposed changes.
What happens after one million signatures?
The collection of signatures is aimed at meeting the threshold for a popular initiative under Article 257 of the Constitution. However, reaching one million signatures would not automatically change Kenya’s governance structure or trigger an immediate referendum.
The signatures would have to go through the constitutional process, including verification and consideration by the relevant institutions before Kenyans could eventually vote on the proposed amendments.
Omondi’s campaign is therefore seeking to turn the signature drive into a wider national conversation on the cost of governance, devolution and political representation.
For now, the comedian is calling on Kenyans who support the proposal to visit the Archives in Nairobi and add their signatures as the campaign works towards its one-million target.