FKF President Nick Mwendwa handing the ball to Deputy President William Ruto at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium.
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 27 – Deputy President William Ruto has blamed the County Governments of Kisumu and Mombasa for the delay of the construction of the promised stadia in the respective counties.
Ruto was speaking during the Jubilee manifesto launch on Monday evening at the Moi International Sports Center Kasarani when asked about the five ultra modern stadia they promised when they were running up to their election in 2013.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government pledged five new stadia in Nairobi, Eldoret, Mombasa, Nakuru and Garissa but four years down the line, none has been realized and Ruto was quick to point out the reasons why.
“We have a challenge in Mombasa because the county government has issues of ownership of the land although all the contracts have been signed including for the tartan track,” the Deputy President said.
“We also have a challenge in Kisumu because the county government has not relocated the dumping site which is next to the stadium and international requirement cannot allow you to have a dumping site side by side with a stadium, but as soon as that is relocated the process will be complete,” Ruto added.
The Deputy President assured that six new stadia in Moyale, Chuka, Nyeri, Wote, Eldoret and West Pokot will be complete before December.
“As we talk today the stadium in Wote will be completed in six months time, in three months time the stadium in Moyale and Chuka will be complete. In six months time the stadium in West Pokot which is historic will be compete.”
“In a couple of months the stadium in Eldoret will be completed. In Nyeri there was a challenge of title deed but the President gave it and the programme has been rolled out so instead of five stadia we actually went for nine to make it good and better.”
In addition to that, Ruto said the government is spending close to Sh300m to refurbish Nyayo and Kasarani stadia with the later set to host the IAAF World U18 Championships that gets underway from July 12-16.
Kenya’s winning bid to host the African Nations Championship (CHAN) hangs in the balance with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) unimpressed by the facilities currently in place.
Apart from Kasarani, CAF is yet to approve the stadia its technical team visited at Nyayo National Stadium, Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos, Kinoru Stadium in Meru, Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County and Afraha Stadium in Nakuru.
This year, Kenyan Premier League and National Super League teams have been hit hard by the unavailability of Nyayo and Kasarani Stadia due to refurbishment with the few remaining facilities being subjected to overuse.
