Comedian-turned-activist Eric Omondi has been arrested in Nairobi's Central Business District while collecting signatures for his campaign to reduce Kenya's 47 counties to eight.
Omondi was arrested on Monday, September 7, 2026, by plainclothes police officers at the Nairobi National Archives, where he had been mobilising support for his Punguza Mzigo referendum initiative. Reports said the arrest was carried out without incident.
However, police had not, at the time of reporting, publicly disclosed a specific reason for Monday's arrest. Available reports only confirm that officers detained Omondi while he was conducting the signature drive.
Earlier in the morning, Omondi had announced that the campaign would continue at the Archives until Friday as he seeks to increase the number of signatures supporting his proposed constitutional changes.
"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.
The campaign proposes replacing the existing 47 counties with eight larger regional units based on Kenya's former provincial boundaries. Omondi argues that the restructuring would reduce the cost of government.
His proposals also include abolishing the Senate, women representatives, and nominated parliamentary seats, with the money saved being redirected towards public services, particularly education.
Omondi maintained that his campaign had already gathered more than 430,000 signatures and was targeting one million supporters. Other reports put the number at about 450,000, showing that the campaign's reported tally has continued to change as the collection exercise expands.
Monday's arrest adds to Omondi's increasingly prominent history of activism-related confrontations with authorities.
In June 2026, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations confirmed his arrest at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport over alleged offences linked to fuel-price protests in Nairobi. The DCI said detectives acted on what they described as credible intelligence and were investigating incidents connected to the demonstrations.
That case arose from a protest on May 18, when Omondi brought a lorry carrying empty jerricans into Nairobi CBD and offloaded them onto the streets in opposition to rising fuel prices. The protest followed an EPRA price review that increased petrol by Sh16.65 per litre and diesel by Sh46.29 per litre.
The comedian was subsequently charged with obstructing motorists under Section 53.1(c) of the Kenya Roads Act. Prosecutors alleged that he had interfered with traffic on Kimathi Street by offloading 120 empty 10-litre jerricans from a lorry. He was released on a Sh100,000 bond on June 8, 2026.
His activism has previously centred on the cost of living, unemployment and taxation.
In March 2023, he was arrested while pushing a mkokoteni loaded with curriculum vitae towards State House in a demonstration highlighting youth unemployment. He was also arrested during an unemployment protest in Kisumu in April 2023.
In June 2024, Omondi was arrested outside Parliament during protests against the Finance Bill 2024. He was again detained in October 2024 after attempting to organise an alternative Mashujaa Day event at Uhuru Park to commemorate people killed during the anti-government protests.
The repeated arrests have increasingly accompanied Omondi's transition from entertainment into activism, with his public campaigns often combining dramatic street actions with demands for political and economic reforms.
His latest initiative, however, goes beyond a protest against a particular government policy. By seeking to reorganise the country's devolved structure, Omondi is proposing one of the most significant changes to Kenya's governance system.
The immediate question is whether Monday's arrest will interrupt the signature collection exercise and whether the campaign can reach its one-million-signature target.
For now, Omondi’s campaign to reduce the number of counties continues to fuel debate over the future of devolution and political representation in Kenya.