Nakuru town. [PHOTO/the-star.co.ke]
Apart from Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, five more major towns will be joining the club with the 'city' status.
This is after Cabinet approved an amendment Bill, that seeks to harmonise and cater for the classification of all urban centres in the country.
A Cabinet meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday approved the Urban Areas and Cities Amendment Bill, which is set to amend the Principle Act of 2011.
If Parliament approves these amendments, Nakuru, Eldoret, Narok and Kakamega will be elevated to city categories.
For elevation to this status, each town must have a resident population of at least 500,000 people as per the 2009 population census, as well as meeting meeting other criteria.
In the current Kenyan law, only Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu are ranked as cities, with two other urban centres as municipalities, and 130 qualifying as townships.
"The Bill is aimed at amending the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011 to harmonise and cater for the classification of urban centres in the country in a more realistic and viable manner than is provided for in the current law," State House said on Thursday.