President William Ruto declared that the Masinde Muliro Market in Kitale, Trans‑Nzoia County, which had been stalled for four years, is now completed after his intervention to mobilise the remaining funds.

Ruto instructed Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga to locate the “little money left” needed to finish the modern market and enable traders displaced by the construction to resume business.

The facility contains 2,980 trading spaces, cold‑storage units and other amenities, and the president said the 1,500 traders who were displaced will be given priority when stalls are allocated.

Ruto warned that anyone attempting to sell market stalls to beneficiaries would face legal action, emphasizing that a list of the 1,500 affected entrepreneurs is already in the government’s possession.

A cash grant of KSh10,000 per trader – totalling KSh15 million – was announced to help the displaced traders sustain their businesses while awaiting stall allocation.

The handover ceremony took place on Friday, 16 October, with the market’s chairperson and vice‑chair present, marking the official transfer of the facility to traders.

The completion comes amid a public dispute between President Ruto and Trans‑Nzoia Governor George Natembeya over funding responsibilities and credit for the project, with the governor contesting the national government’s role.

Governor Natembeya has threatened to replace the plaque bearing Ruto’s name with one bearing his own, underscoring the ongoing tension over project ownership.