Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has alleged that there was a plot to arrest him on Saturday night amid an escalating dispute over the opening and ownership of the Masinde Muliro Market in Kitale town.
Natembeya claims the alleged plan was linked to his position on the controversial market, which has become the centre of a standoff between the county and national governments.
The governor says he will lead prayers at the market as the national government continues allocating trading spaces to traders seeking to operate at the facility.
The latest developments have heightened tensions over the management of the market, with the two levels of government maintaining different positions on who financed its construction and, consequently, who should oversee its operations.
Natembeya has announced plans to move to court to challenge the national government's position on the ownership of the market, insisting that the county government has a legitimate claim to the facility.
The governor maintains that the funds used to construct the market were provided by the Trans Nzoia County Government from 2017, disputing claims that the project was financed by the national government.
However, President William Ruto has maintained that the national government invested in the construction of the market, a position that has put the two leaders at odds over the facility's ownership and administration.
The dispute comes as traders await clarity on the allocation of business spaces and the arrangements under which they will operate at the market.
Natembeya's planned court action is expected to provide a legal avenue for resolving the disagreement, although the details of the intended case and the specific reliefs he will seek have not been outlined.
The governor has also linked his strained relationship with the President and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to earlier disagreements over government operations.
In a previous statement, Natembeya said his differences with the two leaders began during the exercise to relocate people from the Mau Forest.
The governor's latest allegations regarding an alleged plot to arrest him add another dimension to the political tensions surrounding the market dispute. However, the claim has not been independently established.
The unfolding standoff places the spotlight on the respective responsibilities of the national and county governments in managing public projects, as well as the need to establish the source of funding and the applicable ownership and operational arrangements.
For traders in Kitale, the immediate concern remains access to business spaces and certainty over the future management of the facility as the two levels of government continue to advance competing claims.
