Traders at Kitale's new Masinde Muliro Business Park have been left in limbo after the Trans Nzoia County Government ordered them to leave within 24 hours, barely two weeks after President William Ruto opened the market and handed over stalls.

The notice, issued on Monday, October 26 and signed by Lands, Housing and Physical Planning County Executive Omulo Pius Gumo, says the county has not issued an occupation certificate for the multi-storey complex on Kitale Municipality Block 4/276. Without it, the county says, anyone using the building is in breach of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019.

"Take notice that no Occupation Certificate has been issued by this office for the premises. The occupation of the premises is therefore unlawful," the notice reads, according to a copy reported by local media.

What the county wants

The notice directs everyone using stalls or shops in the complex to remove their goods. It also says:

  • Some occupants broke padlocks the county had fixed on stalls, and anyone tampering with county property may be reported to the police.
  • Those who fail to comply could have their stalls re-secured and be made to pay any costs incurred.
  • Traders holding valid allocation letters or leases should present them to the lands department for verification within the notice period.

Speaking to Citizen TV, Gumo said the traders the county had given letters of offer were not the ones currently in the market. "The people who are inside that market now, we do not know them," he said in Kiswahili. The county says stalls will be allocated in due course, within the law.

Business grinds to a halt

On Tuesday, much of the market stood empty as traders gathered in small groups in the heavily guarded complex, unsure whether to stay or leave. "It is causing confusion because it disorients those who had already set up here and were working," trader Kapchanga Manyoa said.

Nation reported that traders caught up in the row are now demanding to be told how stalls were allocated.

A long-running row

The 3,000-capacity market was started by the county government in 2017. During his western Kenya tour in mid-October, President Ruto commissioned it, announced Sh56 million to finish the works and directed that 1,500 traders displaced during redevelopment be given priority, with the rest of the stalls balloted.

Governor George Natembeya, who has been in an open political feud with the President, has insisted the facility belongs to the county. The dispute has seen heavy police deployment in Kitale town in recent weeks.

Photos: Uasin Gishu News (Natembeya, Masinde Muliro market). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.