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Trans-Nzoia County Governor George Natembeya when he appeared before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee at Bunge Tower in Nairobi on September 23, 2025.
A bitter power struggle between Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and the County Public Service Board (CPSB) burst into the open this week after the county boss ordered the immediate closure of the board’s offices, accusing it of gross misconduct and rogue operations.
In a sharply worded directive, Governor Natembeya suspended the board’s operations until March 2, 2026, citing improper conduct, unlawful recruitment and alleged sabotage of his administration’s workforce plans.
The dramatic move coming just days before the board’s tenure expires on February 28, has deepened an already volatile institutional standoff over control of the county’s human resource function , a dispute now threatening to spill into court.
In a letter seen by the Daily Nation, Mr Natembeya accused the board, which is constitutionally mandated to manage county staffing, of actions he said have “severely disoriented” government operations.
However, interviews and documents reviewed the Daily Nation suggest the shutdown was not an isolated administrative decision but the culmination of a long-running struggle over who ultimately controls hiring, promotions and staffing within the county government.
At the centre of the latest fallout is the board’s decision on January 23, 2026, to cancel an advertisement for the recruitment of new chief officers.
In his letter, Governor Natembeya described the cancellation as “unfounded and unilateral,” warning that it had serious operational consequences.
“On Friday, January 23, 2026, the CPSB made an unfounded and unilateral decision to cancel an advertisement on the recruitment of new chief officers, an action that severely disoriented government operations, given that the tenure of most current chief officers has come to an end,” the communiqué reads.
Trans Nzoia County Assembly.
The Governor accused CPSB Chairperson Peter Maloba Wamoto of influencing the cancellation and sanctioning other alleged illegal actions.
He claimed Mr Wamoto went as far as using personal funds to cancel the newspaper advertisement an irregular move, he argued, especially with current office holders’ terms already expired.
The dispute has also intensified over recruitment in the health sector.
The governor’s office alleges the board hired eight nurses who had not been shortlisted, a move that reportedly triggered a court injunction and delayed the employment of 134 nurses.
Board members were further accused of refusing to proceed on terminal leave from January 26 despite their tenure nearing expiry, and of continuing to transact business contrary to constitutional provisions.
Within hours of the shutdown directive, the CPSB issued a rebuttal accusing the executive of interference.
In a letter referenced CGTN/CPSB/30VOL 1/53 and addressed to County Secretary Truphosa Amere and copied to the Governor, the County Assembly and the Council of Governors, the board declared the closure illegal.
Citing Article 253 of the Constitution, the CPSB argued it is an independent constitutional organ and cannot be suspended through an executive order.
Mr Wamoto demanded the immediate reopening of the offices, reversal of staff transfer directives and written disclosure within 24 hours of the legal basis for the shutdown.
“This letter serves to formally place the matter on record before oversight institutions for appropriate action, and to prevent the normalisation of executive interference with independent offices,” he stated.
In an interview, Mr Wamoto dismissed the allegations as fabrications.
“This is not the first time we have clashed with the Governor over illegalities. It is a calculated move to paint the board as incapable,” he said.
Intimidation and threats
He claimed the board’s offices had previously been invaded, property destroyed and members subjected to intimidation and threats.
According to Mr Wamoto, the dispute is not about recruitment but resistance to unlawful directives.
“We have been working within the law. The conflict arises because we sometimes refuse irregular instructions from the executive,” he said.
The tension between the governor’s office and the board dates back to 2024 with confrontations over recruitment timelines, promotions and delegated authority.
In October 2024, Governor Natembeya publicly accused the board of failing to recruit health workers, linking delays to a month-long strike in the county’s health sector.
Two months earlier, a section of Members of the County Assembly had called for the board’s disbandment over alleged misuse of power.
The dispute has also reached the courts in a case involving county casual workers before the Employment and Labour Relations Court, drawing the attention of a Senate committee that visited Trans Nzoia to assess payroll automation and revenue systems.
During Jamhuri Day celebrations at Sikhendu Primary School on December 12, 2024, the Governor openly criticised the board.
“The problem is that casual staff have served for years without formal employment yet the board, which should be defending them, is playing politics,” he said.
Further correspondence between the two offices reveals mounting mistrust.
In a January 7, 2026 letter (Ref: CGTN/CPSB/11/2/80), the board rejected a request to delegate authority to Kitale Municipal Manager Phoebe Buchunju, while approving a similar request for County Solicitor Diana Wambwile, decisions that fuelled accusations of selective cooperation.
With the board’s tenure expiring on February 28, the timing of the shutdown is politically significant. The sour relations now threaten administrative paralysis across county operations.
Should the board move to court, the case could test the limits of executive power over independent county organs. If it does not, the governor’s directive may effectively terminate the board’s tenure weeks early.
Meanwhile, human resource operations remain in limbo particularly in the health department where staffing shortages have already triggered unrest in recent years.
