Glimmer of hope for Kipchoge Keino Stadium as Sports CS promises speedy completion

It is now a matter of when and not if the Kipchoge Keino Stadium will be completed soon if Sports CS Ababu Namwamba’s words are anything to go by.

The CS paid a visit to the stadium in Eldoret on Tuesday 20, this time with the message that business will be unusual as they seek to complete the long-overdue stadium.

The CS visited the facility he first commissioned in 2012 during his stint as the Sports CS and to his ‘surprise’, a decade later, the stadium was still far from completion.

The Kipchoge Keino stadium, designed as a multi-use stadium, has a capacity of 10,000 people and is especially critical now that athletes are training for the World Athletics Championships set for August.

To date, construction works at the stadium remain work in progress despite the completion deadline of September 2011 being overdue. On completion, the Kipchoge Keino Stadium would have an international standard athletic track, new terraces, changing rooms, and a pavilion. 

Upon landing on the scene, the CS had a chat with the contractor who said that he was on-site continuing with construction.

When he (Ababu) requested to see the works under construction, the constructor said that the works had stalled because of a lack of funds. It was then that an altercation arose, with the contractor insisting that there were no monies.

“Right now, I am not on the site because of lack of funds. If the funds were available, I could be working now,” the contractor said.

However, Namwamba asserted that his administration would not condole lies. The CS was in the company of Uasin Gishu Sports Principal Secretary Peter Tum and Director General of Sports Kenya Pius Metto.

“How come you lie to me, not even on the phone but live to me? If I was away, I could have believed what you have told me,” said Namwamba.

“We have come here to send a message that there is a new way to do things. This way is very hands-on, keen on value for money, and the highest standards possible and we want constructors to work within this new way.

The current contractors were inherited from the previous administration. The contract is still on, and we will not condone bad manners. There is a new Sheriff in town and he wants things to be done well,” he said.

The CS also stated that the amount of time spent on the project was ‘criminal’. The construction works which commenced in 2012, a decade ago, are still ongoing.

“If you look at the football pitch, it looks like a grazing field. I launched the works for this stadium ten years ago when I was the CS.

We are committing as the PS and myself that we will make resources available. In fact, we have already started making resources available. The contractor can confirm that we have released some money to get them going,” he said.

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Ironically though, the stadium is named after the iconic former chairman of the Kenyan Olympic committee and retired athlete Kipchoge Keino who was among the 24 athletes inducted as inaugural members of the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall of Fame in 2012.

“We have identified this region as deserving a world-class, state-of-the-art stadium where our athletes can train. The good thing is we now have a comprehensive master plan that identifies what needs to be done when, where and to what standards,” the visibly concerned Ababu strategically pointed out.

These plans come at a time when the City of Champions, Eldoret is gearing up to welcome approximately 8,000-10,000 delegates during the 8th Devolution Conference set to be hosted by the Council of Governors from August 15-19.

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