Ruto-Natembeya feud flares as 2027 politics takes shape

President William Ruto opens the Masinde Muliro Market in Kitale town on October 18, 2026. [Martin Ndiema, Standard]

The political standoff between President William Ruto and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has escalated into efforts to suppress and arrest the governor and to derail development projects in Trans Nzoia County.

The row centres on allegations of undermining devolution, hijacking projects and the sudden withdrawal of the governor's security detail.

At the centre of the political storm are the opening of the Masinde Muliro Market and the ground-breaking ceremony for the Sh1 billion Kitale Level 5 Hospital.

Last Friday, the President inaugurated the newly constructed market, a move that sparked a furious reaction from Governor Natembeya.

He dismissed the launch, claiming the market was funded by the county and inherited from the previous county administration.

He accused the President of taking credit for local initiatives and vowed to launch it himself and allocate stalls directly to local traders.

The market has since been placed under tight security, as Natembeya condemned the president's action, accusing him of interfering with the county government's operations.

Another point of contention concerns the hospital's construction.

The national government handed the project over to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) for completion.

Natembeya has protested the move, arguing that the project is on county land and that bypassing the county government violates the Constitution.

Masinde Muliro markert in Kitale. [Martin Ndiema, Standard]

President Ruto has insisted that the hospital upgrade will proceed uninterrupted.

He accuses Natembeya of sabotaging national government projects, mismanaging county resources and failing to deliver healthcare during his tenure.

In response, Natembeya has stated that Ruto is targeting him for speaking out against the national executive and undermining devolution.

Following the President's North Rift regional development tour, Natembeya's official security detail was abruptly withdrawn without prior notice.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen defended the administration's decision, alleging that the governor had associated with individuals planning political violence.

The security withdrawal has drawn sharp criticism from across the political divide. Lawmakers, including Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, have warned the government against using state security machinery to intimidate local leaders.

Opposition figures such as Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka have also condemned what they describe as a state-sponsored plot to politically suppress and arrest the Trans Nzoia governor.

As the standoff escalates, The Standard can authoritatively confirm that the county government funded the Masinde Muliro Market to the tune of Sh874 million.

A million-square-foot, two-floor building has been operating since 2015, intended to end the chaos of open-air mama mboga markets.

Our governor, Khaemba, initiated the project.

Khaemba, banking on World Bank money under the Kenya Urban Support Programme, embraced the project.

On project22 — two days before the elections — Khaemba inaugurated the "ultra-modern market," terming it a game-changer.

But it was an inauguration ceremony without traders. Power not connected, drainage unfinished, no allocation.

Natembeya inherited the project. For two years, nothing happened.

In early 2024, Trans-Nzo County Secretary Truphosa Amere announced a new contractor and a list of 3 00 traders vetted since 2019.

In February 2026, Amere said the national government had released an additional Sh56 million towards completing the remaining works.

Masinde Muliro markert in Kitale. [Martin Ndiema, Standard]

Amere said the county had agreed to hand over the outstanding works to the national government, explaining: “We are handing over the project with an agreement that the national government will help us complete the remaining works within 30 days.”

Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo posted on Twitter two months ago that the national government had injected Sh200 million into the project.

In 2023, during a visit to the county, President Ruto said he had pledged Sh100 million towards the project.

Natembeya's response was explosive: "Where is that money? Let Omollo show receipts. This market is county and World Bank. Not even a cent from the Ruto administration."

On October 16, Ruto launched it and handed Sh15 million in cash — Sh10,000 each to 1,500 traders displaced during construction.

The president also said his government had mobilised funds to complete the market, which had stalled for four years.

As it stands now, there are two different lists of beneficiaries.

One, in Amere's drawer, with names of Kitale tomato sellers who have waited seven years.

Another, brought by national government officials, with names from across the region — and which Natembeya claims includes "Sebei from Uganda."

Regina Nafula, who has sold sukuma along line moja for 20 years, put it simply: "We eat inaugurations. We need a stall, not a speech."

Some 1.3 kilometres from Muliro Market, there stands the old Kital County Hospital- built in the 1920s, low-roofed, paint peeling.

That is the hospital Ruto wants to demolish and rebuild at the cost of Sh1 billion.

It is expected to have 300 beds, 32 ICU and High Dependency beds, 4 operating theatres, emergency, radiology, and maternity, all to be built by the Kenya Defence Forces in eight months.

The Ministry of Defence has not yet shown a budget line item, but Ruto says the money is there.

After he took over the reins, Natembeya transferred services from KCH to Wamalwa Kijana Teaching and Referral Hospital, purposely to decongest the old facility.

Key services offered at KCH include gynaecological services.

The dental services initiative by Ruto to initiate the project has not gone well with the governor, who says it undermines his authority as the governor and goes against the constitution.

During the October exchanges, Ruto criticised Natembeya's TAWE political movement and accused the governor of obstructing development.

On the outskirts of Kitale town stands Waalwa Kijana Teaching and Referral Hospital- also Khaemba's flagship project, started in 2015 and abandoned at 40 per cent.

Natembeya says he refused to be like "other people who abandon predecessors' projects."

He injected money: Sh2 billion of his own county budget since 2022, bringing total spent to Sh2.5 billion of an estimated Sh4 billion.

Today it works. County health records show: 350 beds, a 10-bed ICU, a Sh100 million renal unit commissioned in July with 20 German Hemodiafiltration machines dialysing 2 days a day, a CT scan and wards.

Health Chief Officer Judith Simiyu says services were moved there from the old hospital to save it.

So when the old hospital was demolished, Ruto announced the construction of a new hospital on old land without county public participation; Natembeya saw a trap:

"This is county land. The role of the governor should not be interfered with. Let us respect the constitution," asserted Natembeya.

Ruto's answer: "As a leader, you plan for health, not for burial. You were buying coffins while people die. This is shameful."

The rehabilitation and modernisation of Kenyatta Stadium in Kitale is another major point of contention between Ruto and Natembeya.

On January 31, 2023, the county government signed a contract valued at approximately Sh657.3 million for Phase 1A of the stadium project. The original completion deadline was February 28, 2025.

An Auditor-General's report covering the period up to September 2024 recorded payments of approximately Sh326.5 million to the contractor, equivalent to about 49.6 per cent of the contract sum.

The audit also identified construction delays and a boundary dispute that affected work on the perimeter fence. It raised questions about project supervision and monitoring.

These findings indicate that implementation challenges had been documented before the latest public exchange between the President and the governor.

Started under Khaemba, stalled under Natembeya over bills.

Ruto folded it into his bigger narrative: he has built 32 stadia nationally as part of Sh29.4 billion AFCON 2027 plan.

"Your governor has been unable to complete it; I will now take over and complete it for you," he told residents after he launched the Masinde Muliro Market.

For Natembeya, it was another takeover.

The governor has reiterated that health and markets are county functions under Article 186.

But the national government can intervene with county consent; the county's consent never came.

The governor says there is no intergovernmental agreement signed for any of the three projects.

Natembeya was Rift Valley Regional Commissioner — the man who enforced security in Ruto's backyard.

He was feared, not loved. In 2022, he ran on Eugene Wamalwa's DAP-K.

He then built Tawe Movement — a Luhya-driven anti-tribal mobilisation that challenges Ruto's Kalenjin-Luhya alliance in Trans Nzoia.

He refused to attend Ruto's rallies. He skipped three presidential visits.

He criticised what he calls "the bread-based government."

In Kiminini, where Ruto recently visited, he took time to criticise the governor, painting him as anti- development.

Natembeya told locals: "I am not a county commissioner. I am elected by people. People elect me, you."

Ruto, who needs Trans Nzoia to secure the Western vote in 2027, decided to turn development into a campaign.

His visit to Kitale last week was not a development tour; it was a launchpad for his 2027 candidates — Kiminini MP Kakai Bisau, former MP Chris Wamalwa, former Health CS Susan Nakhumicha — all presented as alternatives to Natembeya.

Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen made it explicit at Endebess.

"Your Excellency, this governor let people die and be called Shakahola, or should we deal with that governor so you can build the hospital?"  Murkomen posed.

The public has been drawn into the conversation.

One of the residents said, "We want a hospital, not a battlefield. But if two fathers fight over a child, the child suffers."

The disagreement between the President and the governor raises concerns over the governor's pending constitutional responsibilities and credit for development projects.

The governor has also rejected the suggestion that his relationship with the President determines whether development should proceed.

“I am not answerable to you,” Natembeya said, asserting his position as an elected governor with responsibilities to the people of Trans Nzoia.

The disagreement also raises questions about project financing, implementation delays, public accountability and the management of devolved functions as political leaders position themselves ahead of the 2027 general election.

Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Trans Nzoia chairman Titus Kilong’i warned that disagreements between national and county officials could disadvantage established traders if the allocation process was not clearly managed.

Kilong’i questioned the involvement of County Commissioner Hussein Alasow in allocating stalls, arguing that trade is a devolved function and that the county government would ultimately manage the facility and collect revenue.

“Did the County Commissioner build this market so that he can step in and allocate the stalls? And after allocating them, is he the one who will collect the revenue? Does the law allow him to do that?” he posed in relation to Saturday distribution of the stalls by the CC.

His concerns place the focus on the practical consequences of the dispute: who allocates stalls, how traders are selected and which authority will manage the market after completion.

The dispute over development projects has also taken on a wider political dimension as leaders prepare for the 2027 general election.

The President also named several potential challengers to Natembeya in the gubernatorial contest, including Kiminini MP Kakai Bisau, former MP Chris Wamalwa and former Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha.

The exchanges have placed development spending, project ownership and the constitutional powers of county governments at the centre of the political debate in Trans Nzoia.

As the 2027 elections approach, the implementation and management of Trans Nzoia's major development projects are likely to remain important issues in the county's political debate.