Kitale's Masinde Muliro Market Nears Completion After Years of Delay

The Masinde Muliro Ultra Modern Market in Kitale Town has crossed 95 percent completion and is being prepared for handover to local traders, according to Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration Raymond Omollo.

Omollo said construction on the facility began in August 2022 under then Trans Nzoia Governor Patrick Khaemba, before stalling for years. He said the national government later became involved to help push the project toward completion.

Omollo did not detail why the project stalled or who was responsible for the delay, only noting that it had remained incomplete for a prolonged period before receiving renewed attention.

Once handed over, the facility is designed to accommodate between 3,000 and 3,600 small and medium scale traders, offering organised trading spaces in place of informal roadside stalls.

The market will house separate sections for fresh produce vendors, household goods dealers, apparel traders and other specialised businesses, consolidating trade activity currently spread across Kitale's streets.

According to Omollo, the intention is to move traders from roadside positions into a covered, more secure trading environment with improved sanitation and layout.

The market sits at the centre of Kitale's commercial and transport hub, a location that has made coordination between security agencies and transport stakeholders necessary ahead of its opening.

Omollo said the State Department for Internal Security and National Administration is working with security agencies, local administrators and transport stakeholders to manage the transition, focusing on orderly occupation and traffic flow around the site once trading begins.

Public safety planning has featured prominently in the handover preparations, given the scale of daily foot and vehicle traffic expected once thousands of traders begin operating from the building.

Delayed county infrastructure projects have been a recurring issue across Kenya, with funding gaps, procurement disputes and changes in leadership among the factors commonly cited for stalled works.

Kitale Town serves as the administrative and commercial centre of Trans Nzoia County, and the market is expected to formalise a significant share of the town's informal trading sector once it becomes operational.