A supremacy battle between Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi and Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a has escalated over building of markets in the county, leading to fresh flare-ups of violence.

Last Friday, at least six county enforcement officers were seriously injured in a violent clash over construction of a market in Ngoliba, Thika East.

The county employees had been dispatched to the site to guard the facility when they were pelted with stones by hired goons said to have been ferried from other parts of Kiambu. Several county vehicles were also damaged.

“At least six of our enforcement officers incurred injuries after they were stoned by goons hired by the MP. They were rushed to hospital bleeding from their heads after they were hit by stones,” said John Mwangi, an official of the devolved unit.

He added that some of the attackers who were later apprehended by the county workers and locals confessed they were ferried in vehicles from Kabete and other regions outside Thika.

“The county government was in the process of upgrading the Ngoliba market when the hirelings descended on our workers. Luckily, locals helped to repulse the gang and have vowed to resist any attempt to cause chaos there,” said Mwangi.

He also accused police ofcers of taking orders from a senior government personality to protect the attackers.

The latest incident reawakens ugly supremacy battles between Governor Wamatangi and MP Alice Ng’ang’a over construction of markets.

Earlier, in May 2024, a young man was shot dead allegedly by an MP when chaos broke out at another market construction site in Kiganjo area of Thika town when residents attempted to block Ms Ng’ang’a and four other colleagues from accessing the area.