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• Governor Jonathan Bii has suggested renaming Uasin Gishu county to Eldoret county.
• He claims that the distinction between county and city names bewilders foreigners and investors.
• Bii wants Eldoret to match the standards of other large cities such as Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa.
• The suggestion was made a year following President William Ruto’s declaration of Eldoret as a city in 2024.

.co.ke journalist Harry Ivan Mboto has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya

Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii has suggested changing the county’s name to Eldoret County to enhance its recognition and promotion on a global scale.

Bii was addressing the audience at the 2025 Kenya Software and AI Summit, which took place at the Moi University Annex Campus in Eldoret.

The leader mentioned that the discrepancy between the county’s name and its administrative center frequently causes confusion among tourists and business people.

Why is the governor of Uasin Gishu seeking to rename the county to Eldoret?

He shared a story from a recent visit to China, where individuals had difficulty pronouncing Uasin Gishu and confused it with another city.

Bii stated that harmonizing the names would make branding easier and place Eldoret alongside Kenya’s major cities whose names correspond to their counties, like Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Nakuru.

“I believe it’s time to follow the path of other major cities. People overseas refer to Eldoret county and Uasin Gishu county as if they are separate entities. It’s challenging to promote a name that many cannot even pronounce,” Bii stated.

The request comes after Eldoret was granted city status by President William Ruto on August 15, 2024, becoming the fifth city in Kenya.

It is still the only one whose name is different from its county, a factor that the governor thinks hinders international marketing initiatives.

“I believe we should take inspiration from other cities that share their names with their counties. It doesn’t make sense to have Eldoret under Uasin Gishu. Perhaps AI could assist us in promoting and marketing our county more effectively outside its boundaries,” the governor stated.

Eldoret functions as the administrative and business center of Uasin Gishu county, encompassing important towns such as Turbo, Moi’s Bridge, Burnt Forest, and Matunda.

The origin of the name Uasin Gishu

This year, the governor revealed intentions to transform six urban regions into cities in order to boost growth and improve facilities.

In the past, the county’s name originated from the Maasai clan known as Illwuasin-kishu, which previously used the plateau for grazing their livestock.

The Nandi people moved the Maasai and took over the Plateau for their livestock. When the British arrived, the Nandis were confined to the Nandi African reserves, while some worked as laborers on their farms.

The highland was later known as Uasin Gishu by the British and officially recognized during the colonial era following the Anglo-Maasai Agreement of 1911.