Eric Omondi Arrested in Nairobi CBD While Collecting Signatures to Support Proposal to Reduce Kenya’s Counties from 47 to 8
Kenyan comedian and activist Eric Omondi was arrested in Nairobi’s Central Business District on Monday, September 7, 2026, while collecting signatures in support of a campaign seeking to reduce the number of Kenya’s counties from 47 to eight.
Omondi had taken his campaign to the heart of Nairobi, where he was collecting signatures from members of the public at the National Archives along Moi Avenue as part of his wider Punguza Mzigo initiative.
Videos circulating from the scene showed the comedian being arrested and handcuffed by plain-clothes police officers as the signature collection exercise was under way. However, authorities had not, at the time of the reports, publicly explained the reason for the arrest.
The arrest immediately attracted attention because of the nature of Omondi’s campaign, which seeks major changes to Kenya’s governance structure at a time when the country is already beginning to focus heavily on the 2027 General Election.
Omondi has been moving across the country in recent weeks urging Kenyans to support his proposal, arguing that the current 47-county system is too expensive to maintain and that the country could save substantial public funds by consolidating the counties into eight larger regional governments.
According to reports, the campaign had already collected approximately 430,000 to 450,000 signatures before the Nairobi phase of the exercise. Omondi is now targeting one million signatures as he seeks to build enough public support to push the proposal into the constitutional amendment process.
The Nairobi exercise was therefore expected to be an important stage of the campaign.
Omondi had announced that he would be stationed at the Archives throughout the week, calling on Nairobi residents to turn up, sign the initiative and support his vision of restructuring Kenya’s governance system.
“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 in a video shared before his arrest.
His arrest has now added a new dimension to the campaign, with questions emerging over whether the incident will disrupt the signature drive or instead generate even greater public interest in the initiative.
Why Eric Omondi wants Kenya to have eight counties
At the heart of Omondi’s campaign is an argument about the cost of running government.
The comedian-turned-activist believes Kenya has created an expensive political and administrative structure that places a heavy burden on taxpayers.
His proposal seeks to replace the current 47 counties with eight larger regional units broadly based on the former provincial structure that existed before the 2010 Constitution introduced the current system of devolution.
Under the proposal, counties would effectively be consolidated into larger administrative regions.
Omondi argues that such a move would reduce the number of political and administrative offices that Kenyans have to finance through taxes.
The campaign is not only targeting county governments. It is also calling for the removal of several political positions, including senators, Women Representatives and nominated parliamentary seats.
Omondi has argued that the money saved by reducing these positions and restructuring the devolved system could instead be directed towards services that directly affect ordinary Kenyans.
Education has been one of the areas repeatedly mentioned by the campaign, with Omondi arguing that resources saved from what he considers unnecessary government structures could be redirected towards making education more affordable and accessible.
His campaign therefore presents the proposal not simply as a change to the number of counties, but as a broader attempt to reduce what he describes as the cost of governance.
The proposal has been revived from an earlier campaign.
Omondi was involved in a similar push in 2024 when he advocated for reducing Kenya’s 47 counties to eight and eliminating some elective and nominated positions. The current campaign has, however, taken on greater significance as the country approaches the 2027 elections.
The campaign has also generated debate online, with some Kenyans supporting the idea of reducing government expenditure while others have raised concerns about what would happen to the gains made through devolution.
That debate is likely to become more intense if Omondi manages to reach his one-million-signature target.
The history behind Kenya’s 47 counties
Kenya’s current county system was established under the Constitution adopted in 2010.
The new constitutional order replaced the former provincial administrative structure with a devolved system consisting of 47 counties.
The change was one of the most significant reforms introduced by the 2010 Constitution.
Devolution was designed to move government closer to the people by transferring certain functions and resources from the national government to county governments.
The system was also intended to address historical inequalities by ensuring that resources and development opportunities reached communities outside Nairobi and other major urban centres.
Each county was given its own elected governor and county assembly, alongside other administrative structures.
Since the first devolved elections in 2013, counties have become an important part of Kenya’s political, economic and administrative landscape.
Governors have emerged as powerful political figures, while county governments have taken responsibility for functions such as health services, local infrastructure, agriculture and other devolved responsibilities.
The system has also created thousands of political and administrative positions across the country.
It is this structure that Omondi now wants Kenyans to reconsider.
His proposal essentially seeks to revisit the decision made in 2010 and replace the 47-county model with a smaller number of larger regional units.
The idea of returning to eight regions is particularly significant because it resembles Kenya’s former provincial structure.
Before devolution, Kenya had eight provinces: Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley and Western.
However, restoring such a structure would not be a simple administrative decision because the current 47 counties are constitutionally established.
Any attempt to abolish or fundamentally alter them would therefore require constitutional changes and adherence to the procedures provided by the Constitution.
One million signatures will not automatically change the Constitution
One of the most important issues surrounding Omondi’s campaign is what happens if he reaches his one-million-signature target.
Collecting one million signatures would not automatically reduce the number of counties.
Instead, the signatures would be part of the process for advancing a constitutional amendment initiative under Article 257 of the Constitution.
The popular initiative route allows citizens to propose constitutional changes.
Once the required support has been collected, the signatures and proposed constitutional amendments would still have to go through various stages of verification and consideration.
The proposal would have to be submitted to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for verification of the signatures and other requirements before proceeding through the constitutional process.
If the initiative satisfies the necessary requirements, it would move through the county assemblies and Parliament.
Depending on the nature of the proposed amendments, the process could ultimately require a referendum in which Kenyan voters would have the final say.
This means Omondi’s campaign faces a much longer road than simply collecting signatures.
Even if the one-million-signature target is reached, the proposal would still have to overcome constitutional, political and public hurdles before Kenya’s governance structure could be changed.
The campaign is therefore currently at the mobilisation stage, with Omondi attempting to demonstrate that there is sufficient public support for the proposed reforms.
Why the proposal is likely to generate controversy
The proposed reduction of counties touches on one of the most sensitive issues introduced by Kenya’s 2010 Constitution.
For supporters of devolution, the 47 counties represent more than administrative units.
They are a mechanism through which communities have gained greater control over local development and public services.
Many Kenyans have therefore expressed concern that reducing the number of counties could take government farther away from citizens.
There are also questions about how resources would be shared under a system of eight larger regions.
Some counties are geographically large and sparsely populated, while others are relatively small but densely populated.
Combining them could create new questions about representation, resource allocation and access to services.
There would also be questions about the future of governors, county assemblies and thousands of workers employed by county governments.
Omondi’s campaign, however, focuses primarily on the financial side of the debate.
His argument is that Kenya cannot continue supporting what he considers an unnecessarily large political class when many citizens continue to struggle with unemployment, high living costs and limited access to essential services.
This tension between the cost of governance and the benefits of devolution is likely to become one of the central issues in the debate.
Supporters will ask how much Kenya can save by reducing the number of counties and political offices.
Opponents are likely to ask what Kenya could lose in terms of local representation and access to government services.
Arrest adds another chapter to Omondi’s activism
The Nairobi arrest is also likely to attract attention because it is not the first time Omondi has found himself on the wrong side of the law during his activism.
Over the past several years, the comedian has increasingly moved beyond entertainment into political and social activism.
He has participated in protests and campaigns focusing on unemployment, the cost of living and the challenges facing young Kenyans.
His activism has frequently placed him at the centre of public demonstrations and confrontations with authorities.
The current campaign is different in that it focuses on constitutional reform rather than a single policy or economic grievance.
Omondi is attempting to build a nationwide movement around the idea that Kenya’s governance structure should be made smaller and less expensive.
His arrest in the CBD could therefore become a major talking point within the campaign.
For supporters, the incident could be portrayed as evidence that authorities are uncomfortable with his campaign.
For authorities, however, the circumstances surrounding the arrest will determine whether it was connected to the signature collection exercise or another issue.
At the time of reporting, no official explanation for the arrest had been publicly provided.
That leaves several questions unanswered, including whether Omondi will be released without charge, whether he will be taken to court or whether police will provide further details about the circumstances of the arrest.
Nairobi becomes the latest battleground for the campaign
The decision to take the signature drive to Nairobi was significant.
As Kenya’s capital and largest political centre, Nairobi provides Omondi with access to a large and diverse population.
The National Archives area is also one of the busiest parts of the CBD, meaning that the campaign can attract considerable public attention.
Omondi had encouraged residents to visit the Archives throughout the week and sign the initiative.
The timing also comes as political discussions surrounding the 2027 General Election begin gaining momentum.
By targeting Nairobi at this stage, the campaign is seeking to turn what began as an activist proposal into a national political conversation.
The comedian has already travelled to several parts of the country, including Kakamega, Meru and Mombasa, where he says he gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures.
He has presented the growing signature tally as evidence that Kenyans are increasingly receptive to the idea of reducing the cost of government.
Whether those signatures ultimately translate into constitutional change remains uncertain.
But the campaign has succeeded in putting the question of Kenya’s governance structure back into the national conversation.
What happens next?
The immediate question is what will happen to Omondi following his arrest and whether the signature collection exercise at the Archives will continue.
The comedian had planned to remain at the location until Friday as part of the campaign’s effort to reach one million signatures.
His arrest could interrupt those plans, although it could also attract additional attention to the initiative and potentially increase public interest.
Beyond the arrest, the bigger question is whether the Punguza Mzigo campaign can sustain momentum long enough to complete the constitutional process.
Collecting one million signatures is only the first major hurdle.
The initiative would then have to undergo verification and consideration through the institutions established by the Constitution.
Ultimately, if the proposal reaches a referendum, Kenyan voters would have the opportunity to decide whether the country should retain its 47-county structure or adopt a fundamentally different model.
For now, Omondi is betting that enough Kenyans believe the current system has become too expensive and that the country needs a smaller, more efficient government.
His opponents are likely to argue that the answer to problems within devolution should be better management and accountability rather than abolishing or merging counties.
That debate is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
The 47 counties have been a defining feature of Kenya’s political system since the 2010 Constitution came into force, and changing them would represent one of the most significant constitutional transformations since devolution began.
As Omondi continues his campaign, the conversation will therefore extend beyond the comedian himself.
It will touch on the cost of government, the future of devolution, political representation, public spending and the kind of governance structure Kenyans want for the future.
For Omondi, the message remains straightforward: Kenya should reduce its 47 counties to eight, cut the number of political offices and redirect the savings towards ordinary citizens.
Whether Kenyans will ultimately endorse that vision remains to be seen.
But with hundreds of thousands of signatures already claimed and a one-million target ahead, the campaign has already forced the country to confront a question that is unlikely to go away quietly: has Kenya’s devolved government structure become too expensive, or is the 47-county system still essential to bringing government closer to the people?
