Youthful Nandi Governor Stephen Sang was on Friday captured in an ugly confrontation with an unidentified man believed to be an aide to former minister Henry Kosgey.
In a video making rounds on social media, Sang is seen pushing the elderly man and shouting at him in local Nandi dialect. He had visited a site believed to have been grabbed.
"Don't get it twisted. 1st, That is Henry's bodyguard and not PA. He snatched a key belonging to county's backhoe when the Governor led angry residents in a mission to reposes a grabbed land by Henry Kosgey who took the land, buried a cattle dip and his planted tea. The real issue," a user by the name Bishop said.
While addressing residents at Kapsimatwo, Sang said the land meant for establishment of public utilities and had been reportedly taken away by a private developer.
"Acting on the complaints from the public and having established ownership of the land held by the county in trust of the public, today I led the community in the recovery of four acres of land, reserved for the establishment of public utilities. Already the community had built Kaburet Cattle Dip in Matema village, Kapsimatwo but the land was forcefully taken away and their dip destroyed," Sang wrote on Facebook.
He said the forceful acquisition of the land had negatively affected the surrounding community's economic development. The county boss warned that he will continue with the crackdown to recover grabbed land.
"This has negatively affected the community's economic development who have continued to suffer in the hands of a few individuals who have denied them their rightful ownership of their land.
"I want to assure the people of Nandi that we will continue repossessing all the parcels of land that belong to the public in our county. God Bless Nandi," said Sang, who also served as the area senator from 2013.
Mr Kosgey, a former Tinderet MP, is said to be keen to go for Nandi gubernatorial seat. He served as ODM chairman until his unceremonious exit in 2013.