Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration Raymond Omollo has announced that the long-delayed Masinde Muliro Ultra-Modern Market in Kitale Town is more than 95 per cent complete and is being finalised for handover to thousands of traders.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The market, whose construction began in August 2022 during the tenure of former Trans Nzoia Governor Patrick Khaemba, stalled for years before the national government stepped in to facilitate its completion.

Speaking during an update on the project, Omollo said the facility is among stalled public projects the government is completing under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) to ensure wananchi benefit from investments that had remained unfinished.

He said the ultra-modern market is designed to accommodate between 3,000 and 3,600 traders, including vendors dealing in fresh produce, household goods, clothing, and other businesses.

📌 What You Need to Know

Omollo noted that relocating traders into the modern facility would improve business operations by providing secure and organised trading spaces while reducing congestion caused by informal roadside trading.

As the market nears completion, the Trans Nzoia County Government has started the process of allocating stalls to traders. The county says the exercise will be conducted fairly and transparently, and has invited traders and other interested business owners to give their views before the allocation is finalised.

The PS added that because the market sits within Kitale’s busy commercial and transport hub , his department is working with security agencies, local administrators and transport stakeholders to ensure orderly occupation once the facility is officially opened.

According to Omollo, the completion of the market is expected to strengthen Kitale's role as a commercial centre while improving livelihoods for thousands of small and medium-sized traders.

Modern markets, he noted, also help improve sanitation, enhance security and create a better business environment, while increasing revenue collection through formalised trading spaces.

The market is expected to support businesses serving the wider North Rift region, where agriculture remains a key economic activity, and thousands of farmers depend on reliable markets to sell their produce.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke