President Uhuru Kenyatta will officially open the new-look Nyayo Stadium on Saturday after three years of renovation.
Nyayo has been closed since 2017 as the State sought to change its face after years of neglect and after several missed deadlines, the sporting facility is finally ready for action.
The stadium’s outer and inner areas have seen a major facelift with glass walls outside while the terraces have been replaced with seats, the dressing rooms renovated with showers installed, a VIP area also put in place plus a media centre.
The stadium’s playing surface is in top shape, the swimming pool finished as well as the basketball gymnasium. However, there is still concerns over the tartan track which observers say is not of proper standards just two weeks before the stadium hosts the World Athletics Continental Tour christened Kip Keino Classic on October 3.
The swimming pool is also said to be 49m long, which is not the correct measurements for a standard pool used for international competitions.
That aside, the stadium looks miles away from the structure that Kenyans have come to know for close to three decades. Nyayo’s renovation has been a concern for the government given close to Sh1 billion has been spent but its completion took longer than expected.
Cases of contractors downing tools over delayed on non-payment of their dues have been rife and it was not until early this year that Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed and her new Principal Secretary Joe Okudo brought things up to speed following pressure from the President and sports stakeholders.
Uhuru himself visited the facility in June to check on progress and this seems to have added onto the pressure to have it completed quickly.
Stadia was one of Uhuru’s legacy projects, having promised five new ones by the time he completed his term in 2022 but so far, none has been delivered.
