Counties of Kenya

The counties of Kenya (Swahili: Kaunti za Kenya) are geographical units envisioned by the 2010 Constitution of Kenya as the units of devolved government. The powers are provided in Articles 191 and 192, and in the fourth schedule of the Constitution of Kenya and the County Governments Act of 2012. The counties are also single-member constituencies for the election of members of parliament to the Senate of Kenya and special women members of parliament to the National Assembly of Kenya. As of 2013 general elections, there are 47 counties whose size and boundaries are based on the 47 legally recognised Districts of Kenya. Following the re-organisation of Kenya’s national administration, counties were integrated into a new national administration with the national government posting county commissioners to represent it at the counties

County governments were established in 47 counties (largely based on the 1992 Districts of Kenya), after the scheduled general elections in March 2013. The counties’ names are set out in the First Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya.

1. Mombasa
2. Kwale
3. Kilifi
4. Tana River
5. Lamu
6. Taita/Taveta
7. Garissa
8. Wajir
9. Mandera
10. Marsabit
11. Isiolo
12. Meru
13. Tharaka-Nithi
14. Embu
15. Kitui
16. Machakos
17. Makueni
18. Nyandarua
19. Nyeri
20. Kirinyaga
21. Murang’a
22. Kiambu
23. Turkana
24. West Pokot
25. Samburu
26. Trans Nzoia
27. Uasin Gishu
28. Elgeyo/Marakwet
29. Nandi
30. Baringo
31. Laikipia
32. Nakuru
33. Narok
34. Kajiado
35. Kericho
36. Bomet
37. Kakamega
38. Vihiga
39. Bungoma
40. Busia
41. Siaya
42. Kisumu
43. Homa Bay
44. Migori
45. Kisii
46. Nyamira
47. Nairobi City

Under the new constitution, Kenya is now divided into 47 counties for administrative purposes. They are grouped below according to the former province of which they were part, with their areas and populations as of the 2019 census:

Code	County	Former Province	Area (km2)	Population (2009 Census)	Population (2019 Census)	Capital
1	Mombasa (County)	Coast	212.5	939,370	1,208,333	Mombasa (City)
2	Kwale	Coast	8,270.3	649,931	866,820	Kwale
3	Kilifi	Coast	12,245.9	1,109,735	1,453,787	Kilifi
4	Tana River	Coast	35,375.8	240,075	315,943	Hola
5	Lamu	Coast	6,497.7	191,539	143,920	Lamu
6	Taita–Taveta	Coast	17,083.9	284,657	340,671	Mwatate
7	Garissa	North Eastern	45,720.2	623,060	841,353	Garissa
8	Wajir	North Eastern	55,840.6	661,941	781,263	Wajir
9	Mandera	North Eastern	25,797.7	1,025,756	867,457	Mandera
10	Marsabit	Eastern	66,923.1	291,166	459,785	Marsabit
11	Isiolo	Eastern	25,336.1	143,294	268,002	Isiolo
12	Meru	Eastern	7,003.1	1,356,301	1,545,714	Meru
13	Tharaka-Nithi	Eastern	2,609.5	365,330	393,177	Kathwana
14	Embu	Eastern	2,555.9	516,212	608,599	Embu
15	Kitui	Eastern	24,385.1	1,012,709	1,136,187	Kitui
16	Machakos	Eastern	5,952.9	1,098,584	1,421,932	Machakos
17	Makueni	Eastern	8,008.9	884,527	987,653	Wote
18	Nyandarua	Central	3,107.7	596,268	638,289	Ol Kalou
19	Nyeri	Central	2,361.0	693,558	759,164	Nyeri
20	Kirinyaga	Central	1,205.4	528,054	610,411	Kerugoya / Kutus
21	Murang’a	Central	2,325.8	942,581	1,056,640	Murang’a
22	Kiambu	Central	2,449.2	1,623,282	2,417,735	Kiambu
23	Turkana	Rift Valley	71,597.8	855,399	926,976	Lodwar
24	West Pokot	Rift Valley	8,418.2	512,690	621,241	Kapenguria
25	Samburu	Rift Valley	20,182.5	223,947	310,327	Maralal
26	Trans-Nzoia	Rift Valley	2,469.9	818,757	990,341	Kitale
27	Uasin Gishu	Rift Valley	2,955.3	894,179	1,163,186	Eldoret
28	Elgeyo-Marakwet	Rift Valley	3,049.7	369,998	454,480	Iten
29	Nandi	Rift Valley	2,884.5	752,965	885,711	Kapsabet
30	Baringo	Rift Valley	11,075.3	555,561	666,763	Kabarnet
31	Laikipia	Rift Valley	8,696.1	399,227	518,560	Rumuruti
32	Nakuru	Rift Valley	7,509.5	1,603,325	2,162,202	Nakuru
33	Narok	Rift Valley	17,921.2	850,920	1,157,873	Narok
34	Kajiado	Rift Valley	21,292.7	687,312	1,117,840	Kajiado
35	Kericho	Rift Valley	2,454.5	752,396	901,777	Kericho
36	Bomet	Rift Valley	1,997.9	730,129	875,689	Bomet
37	Kakamega	Western	3,033.8	1,660,651	1,867,579	Kakamega
38	Vihiga	Western	531.3	554,622	590,013	Vihiga
39	Bungoma	Western	2,206.9	1,375,063	1,670,570	Bungoma
40	Busia	Western	1,628.4	743,946	893,681	Busia
41	Siaya	Nyanza	2,496.1	842,304	993,183	Siaya
42	Kisumu	Nyanza	2,009.5	968,909	1,155,574	Kisumu(City)
43	Homa Bay	Nyanza	3,154.7	963,794	1,131,950	Homa Bay
44	Migori	Nyanza	2,586.4	917,170	1,116,436	Migori
45	Kisii	Nyanza	1,317.9	1,152,282	1,266,860	Kisii
46	Nyamira	Nyanza	912.5	598,252	605,576	Nyamira
47	Nairobi (County)	Nairobi (Province)	694.9	3,138,369	4,397,073	Nairobi (City)
			581,309.0	38,610,997	47,564,296	Nairobi

County governments

County governments are responsible for county legislation (outlined in article 185 of the Constitution of Kenya), executive functions (outlined in article 183), functions outlined in the fourth schedule of the constitution of Kenya, functions transferred from the national government through article 187 of the constitution of Kenya, functions agreed upon with other counties under article 189(2) of the constitution of Kenya, and establishment and staffing of a public service (under article 235 of the Constitution of Kenya). The functions of governments assigned to counties by the fourth schedule of the Constitution of Kenya are:

Agriculture

• Crop and animal husbandry
• Livestock sale yards
• County abattoirs (slaughterhouses)
• Plant and animal disease control
• Fisheries

County health services

• County health facilities and pharmacies
• Ambulance services
• Promotion of primary health care
• Licensing and control of undertakings that sell food to the public
• Veterinary services (excluding regulation of the profession)
• Cemeteries, funeral parlors and crematoria
• Refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal.
• Food distribution and Free services for pregnant mothers

Pollution, nuisances and advertising control

• Control of air pollution, noise pollution, other public nuisances and outdoor advertising

Cultural activities, public entertainment and public amenities

• Betting, casinos and other forms of gambling
• Racing
• Liquor licensing
• Cinemas
• Video shows and hiring
• Libraries
• Museums
• Sports and cultural activities and facilities
• County parks, beaches and recreation facilities
• Ice skating
• Sport fishing
• Golf
• Horse racing
• Rugby

County transport

• County roads
• Street lighting
• Traffic and parking
• Public road transport
• Ferries and harbours, excluding the regulation of international and national shipping and matters related thereto
• SGR- Madaraka Express (modern railway experience)

Trade development and regulation

• Markets
• Trade licences, excluding regulation of professions
• Fair trading practices
• Local tourism
• Cooperative societies

County planning and development

• Statistics
• Land surveying, planning and mapping of resources
• Boundaries and fencing
• Housing
• Electricity and gas reticulation and energy regulation

Education and childcare

• Pre-primary education, village polytechnics, homecraft centres and childcare facilities
• Adult education and national exam registration for the same.

Policy implementation

• Implementation of specific national government policies on natural resources and environmental conservation
• Soil and water conservation
• Forestry

County public works and services

• Stormwater management systems in built-up areas
• Water and sanitation services

Fire fighting services and disaster management

Counties are mandated by the 2010 constitution of Kenya to enact legislation and laws that ensures management and controls of fire fighting.

Control of drugs and pornography

Coordination

• Ensuring and co-ordinating the participation of communities and locations in governance at the local level
• Assisting communities and locations to develop the administrative capacity for the effective exercise of the functions and powers and participation in governance at the local level

County executive committee

The county governor and the deputy county governor are the chief executive and deputy chief executive of the county, respectively.^[9] The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission^[10] shall not conduct a separate election for the deputy governor but shall declare the running mate of the person who is elected county governor to have been elected as the deputy governor.^[11] Each county will be run by an executive committee, consisting of:

• A governor, elected directly by the people
• A deputy, elected as running mate of the successful candidate for governorship
• A number of committee members not exceeding a third (or ten where a county assembly has more than 30 members) of the members of the respective county assembly
• A county secretary, nominated by the governor and approved by the county assembly, who will double up as head of the county public service, and secretary to the county executive committee

As a speciality in the democratic system Kenyan law requires governors to have a recognised university degree (it is not necessary for the President of the United States, for example, to hold a degree).

County assemblies

The counties will each have an assembly whose members are elected from single member constituencies known as wards.^[15] There may also be a number of nominated members as is necessary to ensure that neither male nor female members constitute more than two-thirds of the assembly. There will also be six nominated members to represent marginalised groups (persons with disabilities, and the youth) and a county assembly speaker who will be an ex officio member of the assembly.

County governors

Current list of governors

The governors listed below were elected on 8 August 2017.

County No	Name	Governor	Deputy Governor	Party
1	Mombasa (County)	Ali Hassan Joho	Dr. William Kingi	ODM
2	Kwale	Salim Mvurya	Fatuma Mohamed Achani	JP
3	Kilifi	Amason Kingi	Kenneth Mwakombo Kamto	ODM
4	Tana River	Dhadho Gadae Godhana	Jire Siyat Mohamed	ODM
5	Lamu	Fahim Yassin Twaha	Abdulhakim Aboud Bwana	JP
6	Taita-Taveta	Granton Graham Samboja	Majala Mlagui Delina	WDM-K
7	Garissa	Bunow Ali Korane	Dagame Abdi	JP
8	Wajir	Mohamed Abdi Mahamud	Ahmed Muktar Ali	JP
9	Mandera	Ali Ibrahim Roba	Mohamed Ahmed Arai	JP
10	Marsabit	Mohamud Mohamed Ali	Solomon Gubo Riwe	JP
11	Isiolo	Mohammed Abdi Kuti	Dr. Ibrahim Abdi Issa	IND
12	Meru	Kiraitu Murungi	Titus Ntuchiu	JP
13	Tharaka	Onesmus Muthomi Njuki	Francis Nyamu Kagwima	JP
14	Embu	Martin Wambora	David Kariuki Njeru	JP[19]
15	Kitui	Charity Ngilu	Dr. Wathe Nzau	NARC
16	Machakos	Dr. Alfred Mutua	Eng. Francis Maliti	Maendeleo Chap Chap Party
17	Makueni	Prof. Kivutha Kibwana	Adelina Ndeto Mwau	WDM-K
18	Nyandarua	Francis Kimemia	Cecilia Wanjiru Mbuthia	JP
19	Nyeri	Mutahi Kahiga	Caroline Karugu	JP
20	Kirinyaga	Anne Waiguru	Peter Ndambiri	JP
21	Murang’a	Mwangi wa Iria	Augustine J Gakure Monyo	JP
22	Kiambu	Dr .James Nyoro	Joyce Ngugi	JP
23	Turkana	Josphat Nanok	Peter Lotethiro Emuria	ODM
24	West Pokot	Prof.John Krop Lonyangapuo[20]	Dr. Nicholas Atudonyang	KANU
25	Samburu	Moses Kasaine	Julius Leseeto	JP
26	Trans-Nzoia	Patrick Simonyu Khaemba	Stanley Kiptoo Kenei Tarus	FORD-KENYA
27	Uasin Gishu	Jackson Kiplagat Mandago	Daniel Kiplagat Kiprotich	JP
28	Elgeyo-Marakwet	Alex Tolgos	Gabriel Lagat Kosgey	JP
29	Nandi	Stephen Kipyego Sang	Dr Yulita Jebotip Cheruiyot Mitei	JP
30	Baringo	Stanley Kiptis	Jacob Kurui Chepkwony	JP
31	Laikipia	Ndiritu Muriithi	John Mwaniki	IND
32	Nakuru	Lee Kinyanjui	Erick Korir	JP
33	Narok	Samuel ole Tunai	Aruasa Evalyn Chepkirui	JP
34	Kajiado	Joseph Ole Lenku	Martin Moshisho	JP
35	Kericho	Prof.Paul Kiprono Chepkwony	Susan Chepkoech Kikwai	JP
36	Bomet	Dr. Hillary Barchok		JP
37	Kakamega	Wycliffe Oparanya	Philip Museve Kutima	ODM
38	Vihiga	Wilber Otichilo	Dr. Patrick Lumumba Saisi	ODM
39	Bungoma	Wycliffe Wafula Wangamati	Prof. Charles Ngome Kibanani	FORD-KENYA
40	Busia	Sospeter Ojaamong	Solomon Abwaku Akadake	ODM
41	Siaya	Cornel Rasanga	Wilson Ouma Onyango	ODM
42	Kisumu	Prof.Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o	Mathews Owili	ODM
43	Homa Bay	Dr. Cyprian Awiti	Hamiliton Onyango Orata	ODM
44	Migori	Zacharia Obado	Nelson Mahanga Mwita	ODM
45	Kisii	James Ongwae	Arthur Maangi Gongera	ODM
46	Nyamira	Amos Kimwomi Nyaribo	TBD	ODM
47	Nairobi (County)	TBD		TBD