Governor George Natembeya has opened up about what he describes as a traumatic experience with his spouse in the hands of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers during raids at his Kitale and Nairobi homes last week.
I won't be intimidated, Natembeya says as he returns to Western after arrest
An emotional Mr Natembeya claimed he was mishandled by some EACC detectives during the raid at his Nairobi home, and endured unbearable conditions in the cells at Integrity Centre, where he was held before presentation to Milimani courts, where he denied graft charges.
According to the governor, who returned to his Trans Nzoia County on Monday to a grand reception, he was belittled and intimidated by some of the officers, particularly singling out one official for harassment.
Mr Natembeya is, however, grateful to police officers attached to EACC who were friendly and refused to handcuff him as directed by the detective during the raid at his Nairobi home.
The former Rift Valley regional commissioner said he was held for more than three hours incommunicado and could not even access his lawyers.
“These EACC people treat people so badly and handle you as a guilty person even before you are charged. I am happy police officers treated me well,” he said.
“My wife cried when my home was raided and ransacked in a bad way. I have never had audit queries during the time I have worked in government,” said Mr Natembeya.
Natembeya raid: Police lob tear gas to disperse youth outside Governor’s Kitale home
He narrated how four police officers and an EACC officer, whom he identified, stormed his Nairobi house early Monday morning.
“I was in Nairobi since Wednesday, May 14, chasing some bursary clearance. On Monday morning, I was in my house when I heard the doorbell ring, and I met people who said they had come for an inspection. They said they had a court order to search my five houses,” he told residents who turned out to welcome him in Kitale Town.
“What worried me is that my wife has never seen police officers coming to our house, and I was not there. It was traumatising for my family,” he said.
“My wife cried, and here, while I was in Nairobi, they were checking everything at my Nairobi house, where I was, even my mattress and a sitting room table. It was an intimidating moment for me,” he said.
He is grateful to an officer who offered him water to take a bath at the EACC cells before he was presented to court last Tuesday.
Natembeya hurriedly leaves court after he was freed on bail
“I thank those officers who stood with the law because there was no arrest warrant against me,” he said.
The governor said the EACC team did not have an arrest warrant, but an EACC officer bundled him in their van, and he was blocked from accessing his aides and lawyers.
“At around 7 pm, an OCS at Integrity Centre came and told me that he had come to do a caution and charge. That is when I knew I had been locked up," he narrated to his supporters.
Kitale Town came to a standstill on Monday afternoon as jubilant residents lined up along the roads to welcome their governor as he made his way to the Central Business District.
Trans Nzoia County Governor George Natembeya during a homecoming in Kitale town, in the county on May 26, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya I Nation.
The governor declared he will not be intimidated from playing the opposition role and that he is committed to uniting the people of Western Kenya.
His convoy snaked its way through Kitale streets before he made his final stop at the busy Laini Moja Street, where he addressed a huge crowd of jubilant residents.
Traffic was disrupted for the better part of the evening as Mr Natembeya’s convoy made its way to the town, home to the county headquarters, amid chanting of his “Tawe” slogan by supporters
Addressing his supporters, the governor said 2027 is a defining moment for the Western region and all those who do not stand for the people will go home.
The governor said he is committed to working for the people of Trans Nzoia and vowed never to be afraid of criticising the government where there is a need.
“I am just doing my work as an opposition leader, and people should stop using government agencies to silence and intimidate critics,” he stated.
The governor regretted that the youth who were arrested after last Monday's confrontation are suffering without any legal representation.
“Those who were arrested last Monday should be taken to court or released,” he demanded.
Members of the public welcome Trans Nzoia County Governor George Natembeya during a homecoming in Kitale town, in the county, on May 26, 2025, after he was arrested in Nairobi last week and his home at Milimani Estate in Kitale raided by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya I Nation.
At Sikhendu as he made entry to his turf from Bungoma County, the governor's entourage was welcomed by a charged crowd of his supporters.
“I have come from Nairobi through Kisumu, and the people of the Western region are happy, and now I have arrived home. This journey is because people have seen for themselves that Western is now united," said Mr Natembeya.
"This journey from Kisumu to Trans Nzoia is a clear indication that the Mulembe Nation resonates with my message, and it's clear the Western region is united," added the governor.
"The politics of 2027 will be about the people we don't want and people who are projects of other people," he said.
They included Trans Nzoia County Assembly Minority Leader Boniface Cheloti ( Saboti), Deputy Speaker Obed Mwale ( Matisi), MCAs Erick Wafula ( Hospital) and Andrew Kutitila ( Sikhendu).
At Kiminini market, he said: “What has caused me these problems is that I am uniting the Mulembe nation, but I will not give up.”
The Governor announced that he will be working from Kiminini County offices following his ban to operate from his Town hall office in Kitale.
“From Wednesday, I will work from here in Kiminini, and I will adhere to what the Court said. My people come from Wednesday to see me in the office,” he said as his supporters cheered him on.
At Kiminini market, Mr Wajackoya said Mr Natembeya was a rising star who would help to liberate the Western region and give it a new lease of fresh leadership.
