Counties of Kenya explained

Counties of Kenya
Category:	Semi-devolved state
Territory:	Republic of Kenya
Current Number:	47 counties
Government:	County Government, Government of Kenya
Subdivision:	Sub-Counties

The Counties of Kenya (Swahili: Kaunti za Kenya) are geographical units created by the 2010 Constitution of Kenya as the new units of devolved government. They replaced the previous provincial system.^[1] The establishment and executive powers of the counties is provided in Chapter Eleven of the Constitution on devolved government, the Constitution's Fourth Schedule and any other legislation passed by the Senate of Kenya concerning counties. The counties are also single-member constituencies which elect members of the Senate,^[2] and special woman members to the National Assembly.^[3]

As of 2022, there are 47 counties whose size and boundaries are based on 1992 districts. Following the re-organization of Kenya's national administration, counties were integrated into a new national administration with the national government posting a county commissioner to each county to serve as a collaborative link with county government.^[4]

Establishment

County governments were established in all 47 counties^[5] after the general elections in March 2013. The counties' names are set out in the First Schedule of the Constitution.

List of counties

Under the new constitution, Kenya is now divided into 47 counties for administrative purposes. They are grouped below according to the former province they were separated from, with their areas and populations as of the 2009^[6] and the 2019 census:^[7]


Code	County	Former Province	Area (km²)	Population (2009 Census)	Population (2019 Census)	Capital	PostalAbbreviations
1			212.5	939,370	1,208,333	Mombasa	MSA
2		Coast	8,270.3	649,931	866,820	Kwale	KWL
3		Coast	12,245.9	1,109,735	1,453,787	Kilifi	KLF
4		Coast	35,375.8	240,075	315,943	Hola	TRV
5		Coast	6,497.7	101,539	143,920	Lamu	LMU
6		Coast	17,083.9	284,657	340,671	Wundanyi	TVT
7			45,720.2	623,060	841,353	Garissa	GRS
8		North Eastern	55,840.6	661,941	781,263	Wajir	WJR
9		North Eastern	25,797.7	1,025,756	867,457	Mandera	MDR
10			66,923.1	291,166	459,785	Marsabit	MRS
11		Eastern	25,336.1	143,294	268,002	Isiolo	ISL
12		Eastern	7,003.1	1,356,301	1,545,714	Meru	MRU
13		Eastern	2,609.5	365,330	393,177	Kathwana	TNT
14		Eastern	2,555.9	516,212	608,599	Embu	EMB
15		Eastern	24,385.1	1,012,709	1,136,187	Kitui	KTU
16		Eastern	5,952.9	1,098,584	1,421,932	Machakos	MCK
17		Eastern	8,008.9	884,527	987,653	Wote	MKN
18			3,107.7	596,268	638,289	Ol Kalou	NDR
19		Central	2,361.0	693,558	759,164	Nyeri	NYR
20		Central	1,205.4	528,054	610,411	Kerugoya	KRG
21		Central	2,325.8	942,581	1,056,640	Murang'a	MRG
22		Central	2,449.2	1,623,282	2,417,735	Kiambu	KMB
23			98,597.8	1,100,399	1,504,976	Lodwar	TRK
24		Rift Valley	8,418.2	512,690	621,241	Kapenguria	WPK
25		Rift Valley	20,182.5	223,947	310,327	Maralal	SBR
26		Rift Valley	2,469.9	818,757	990,341	Kitale	TNZ
27		Rift Valley	2,955.3	894,179	1,163,186	Eldoret	UGS
28		Rift Valley	3,049.7	369,998	454,480	Iten	EMK
29		Rift Valley	2,884.5	752,965	885,711	Kapsabet	NDI
30		Rift Valley	11,075.3	555,561	666,763	Kabarnet	BRG
31		Rift Valley	8,696.1	399,227	518,560	Rumuruti	LKP
32		Rift Valley	7,509.5	1,603,325	2,162,202	Nakuru^[8] ^[9]	NKR
33		Rift Valley	17,921.2	850,920	1,157,873	Narok	NRK
34		Rift Valley	21,292.7	687,312	1,117,840	Kajiado	KJD
35		Rift Valley	2,454.5	752,396	901,777	Kericho	KRC
36		Rift Valley	1,997.9	730,129	875,689	Bomet	BMT
37			3,033.8	1,660,651	1,867,579	Kakamega	KKG
38		Western	531.3	554,622	590,013	Mbale	VHG
39		Western	2,206.9	1,375,063	1,670,570	Bungoma	BGM
40		Western	1,628.4	743,946	893,681	Busia	BSA
41			2,496.1	842,304	993,183	Siaya	SYA
42		Nyanza	2,009.5	968,909	1,155,574	Kisumu	KSM
43		Nyanza	3,154.7	963,794	1,131,950	Homa Bay	HBY
44		Nyanza	2,586.4	917,170	1,116,436	Migori	MGR
45		Nyanza	1,317.9	1,152,282	1,266,860	Kisii	KSI
46		Nyanza	912.5	598,252	605,576	Nyamira	NMR
47		Nairobi	694.9	3,138,369	4,397,073	Nairobi	NBI
			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).^[10] The functions of governments assigned to counties by the fourth schedule of the Constitution of Kenya are:^[11]

Agriculture

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

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
soccer

County transport

County roads
Street lighting
Traffic and parking
Public road transport
Ferries and harbors, excluding the regulation of international and national shipping and matters related thereto
SGR- Madaraka Express (modern railway experience).^[12]

Trade development and regulation

Markets
Trade licenses, 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 center's 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.

Coordination

Ensuring and coordinating 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.^[13] The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission^[14] 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.^[15] 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,^[16] 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^[17]

Uniquely among democracies, Kenyan law requires governors to have a recognised university degree.^[18]

County assemblies

The counties each have an assembly^[19] whose members are elected from single-member constituencies known as wards.^[20] 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.^[21] 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.^[22]

External links

Notes and References

Article 6, Devolution and access to Services, The 2010 Constitution of Kenya
Article 98, (1) (a), Membership of the Senate, the 2010 Constitution of Kenya
Article 97, (1) (b) Membership of the National Assembly, The 2010 Constitution of Kenya
Web site: 22 July 2013 . Kenyan County Commissioners Re-Organised Under New Structure . 26 July 2013 . AllAfrica.
Web site: List and Format Used to Number Kenya's 47 Counties. 11 July 2019. Soko Directory. 24 May 2020.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics; and the final report of the IEBC as ratified in the National Assembly Constituencies and County Assembly Wards Order, 2012.
Web site: Home . knbs.or.ke.
Web site: 4 June 2021 . Senate approves Nakuru bid for city status . 2021-06-16 . Business Daily . en.
Web site: Gachuhi. Kennedy. Nakuru town's long journey to city status. 2021-06-16. The Standard. en.
Web site: 6 August 2019. Role and Functions of County Governments in Kenya. live. 13 October 2020. AfroCave. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20210228121050/https://www.afrocave.com/role-of-county-governments/ . 28 February 2021 .
Web site: 2. County Governments. Kenya Law Reform Commission . 29 August 2012.
Web site: Kivuva . Elizabeth . 2023-06-08 . World Bank says SGR now ripe for electric trains . 2023-06-08 . metickets.krc.co.ke.
Web site: 179. County executive committees. Kenya Law Reform Commission . 29 August 2012.
Web site: 9 March 2020. Role of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. live. 13 October 2020. AfroCave. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20210416082440/https://www.afrocave.com/independent-electoral-and-boundaries-commission/ . 16 April 2021 .
Web site: 180. Election of county governor and deputy county governor. Kenya Law Reform Commission . 29 August 2012.
Web site: 2019-03-21. Role and Functions of the County Secretary in Kenya. 2021-09-25. AfroCave. en.
Appointment of county secretary, Section 44, County Government Act 2012
News: SHITANDA, WANJIRU OUT OVER DEGREES. 20 January 2013. The Standard. 18 January 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130122041344/http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-103314/shitanda-wanjiru-out-over-degrees. 22 January 2013.
Web site: 14 August 2018. Functions and Role of the County Assembly in Kenya. live. 13 October 2020. AfroCave. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20210301191155/https://www.afrocave.com/role-of-county-assembly/ . 1 March 2021 .
Web site: 12 April 2019. Role of Members of the County Assembly in Kenya. live. 13 October 2020. AfroCave. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20201013195456/https://www.afrocave.com/role-of-members-of-county-assembly/ . 13 October 2020 .
Article 177, (1) Membership of a County Assembly, The 2010 Constitution of Kenya.
Article 177 (c), The 2010 Constitution of Kenya