Trans Nzoia County Commissioner Allaow Hussein has directed local administrators to stop saluting Governor George Natembeya, accusing him of disrespecting President William Ruto in a move that has escalated tensions between the national government and the county leadership.
Hussein issued the directive during Mashujaa Day celebrations in Trans Nzoia, turning the ongoing political dispute into a public confrontation over official protocol and respect for the presidency.
“Stop saluting Natembeya. Mtu ambaye haeshimu Rais, msimuheshimu. Na kuanzia leo, hakuna mtu anaruhusiwa kumpigia gavana salute,” Hussein said, directing local administrators not to salute the governor.
The remarks come amid a bitter dispute between Natembeya and Ruto over the opening and management of the Masinde Muliro Market in Kitale, which has become the centre of a standoff between the county and national governments.
The disagreement intensified after Natembeya accused the President of taking credit for a project he said was largely funded by the county government and the World Bank.
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The governor said his administration had spent nearly Sh500 million on the market and called on the national government to respect the constitutional division of functions between the two levels of government.
Natembeya also questioned the allocation of market stalls, alleging that traders selected by his administration had been removed and replaced with others following the President’s intervention.
The dispute escalated on Monday, October 19, when police were deployed around the facility ahead of a planned prayer meeting led by Natembeya.
The heavy security presence disrupted business in Kitale town, with some traders reportedly staying away amid fears of confrontations.
Ruto officially opened the market on October 16, maintaining that the national government had intervened to complete a project that had stalled for years.
Hussein’s directive has added a new dimension to the dispute, extending the confrontation beyond the market’s ownership, funding and management to the question of how national and county officials should relate to one another.