Comedian Erick Omondi leads referendum push to reduce counties

When the late former President Mwai Kibaki displayed a copy of the New Constitution after the Promulgation ceremony at Uhuru Park, Nairobi on August 27, 2010. [File, Standard]

A section of Kenyans has launched a drive to collect signatures to push for a referendum to reduce the number of counties and abolish some elective seats.

The Sisi kwa Sisi movement now wants the number of counties reduced from 47 to eight.

The group is also seeking to abolish the senatorial, Nominated Members of Parliament and Woman Representative positions.

The Sisi kwa Sisi movement led by comedian Erick Omondi said the number of counties is not economically viable, citing graft as an impediment to service delivery.

"The process starts immediately (Tuesday). We will visit all the 47 counties to collect signatures," said Omondi during a press briefing on Monday in Nairobi.

"We have to fix the nation and root out corruption...the creation of counties was good but we have realised it is corruption that was devolved," he added

The group is proposing to have the referendum conducted alongside the 2027 General Elections, to "help save the taxpayers' money."

"Courts will decide if the holders of the positions Kenyans seek to abolish will serve beyond 2028," he said.

This comes on the backdrop of calls by Generation Z to abolish some elective positions that are overburdening taxpayers.

Omondi said the country borrowed heavily from the United States Constitution, yet Kenyans are overrepresented.

"The US has a population of over 400 million people yet they are represented with only 50 governors while locally, barely 58 million Kenyans are represented by 47 governors," he said.

He claimed that the senators have failed in the oversight role of the counties which are riddled with corruption and accused Members of the County Assembly of doing "very little."

Omondi said the collection of signatures will also involve sensitisation of the masses to take an active role in politics.

"We will do civic education to ensure that everyone is enlightened on the utilisation of their taxes by the government," he said and called on the youth to apply for national identity cards and register as voters in readiness for the next elections.