Scandal of Kenya’s stadiums: Nothing to show for billions of investments in facilities
The big concern is that the country lags behind in sports infrastructure development within the region despite being a global powerhouse in athletics and rugby and with a huge potential in others, especially football.

The story of the state of Kenya’s stadiums is a depressing one. Indeed, the postponement of 2025 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) initially slated for next month to August, offers a perfect chance for Kenyans to question whether there has been value for the billions of billions of shillings invested over the years into their construction and renovations.
Preparations for the tournament, which was to take place in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, was bogged down mainly because the country did not have a stadium that meets CAF)/FIFA standards to host international matches.
Despite concerted efforts to upgrade Moi International Sports Centre and Nyayo National Stadium at a cost of about Ksh 4 billion, there was no chance they would have been fully ready by extended January 15 deadline.
Apart from the stadiums, the hosts are also required to put in place training fields, hotels, hospitals and other infrastructure and facilities will be at the requisite CAF standards for hosting the event.
However, the big concern is that Kenya is lagging behind in sports infrastructure within the region despite being a global powerhouse in athletics and rugby, among other sports, and with a huge potential in others, especially football.
With Kenya finally getting the honours to host CHAN, and subsequently co-host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2027, a lot of discussion shave been pushed around preparedness and the state of sports infrastructure as a whole.
Last year, then Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba had listed Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega as one of the facilities that were to be upgraded to host the event but it was ruled out.
There was even talk in some quarters that the newly-build Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay was a potential venue.
But only Talanta Sports City in Nairobi was picked and is nearing readiness to serve as a host.
On the other hand, Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Mamboleo, Kisumu and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret, Mombasa Stadium were to serve as training venues. In the end, CAF settled on Ulinzi Sports Complex and Police Sacco Stadium, all in Nairobi, received the honours.
That means that all the action will be in Nairobi, for both CHAN and AFCON, denying most of the country a chance to watch the matches, this being the first time Kenya is hosting international football tournaments.
This is an indictment for both the ministry of Sports and county governments, which have splashed huge amounts of public money in recent years into the sector.
Three key counties just outside Nairobi, in the frame of Kiambu, Machakos and Nakuru, for instance, are still grappling with improvements or stalling of projects.
Far off in Kisumu and Mombasa, the situation is not any different with numerous parliamentary visitations to these sights yielding mostly negative reports. The buzzword from some insiders is that three is a lot of corruption in the tendering process while at the same time some contractors have failed to meet capacity.
In Kisumu, there was a proposal that the two stadiums; Moi Stadium and Mamboleo Stadium were to be used for AFCON but that was later cancelled. The pair is yet to meet standards under CAF yet a lot of money has gone into it. Work on upgrading the stadiums and infrastructure began in 2019. However, despite initial enthusiasm, the necessary renovations and constructions were not completed in time.
County CEC of Sports, Culture & Arts Beatrice Odongo states; “When the FIFA team came and checked, they told us that we were far from being ready and could not host the games,” Odongo explained.
She further noted that, under FIFA’s strict regulations, stadiums must meet specific criteria in terms of seating, VIP facilities, changing rooms, walling, and ticketing booths – all of which Kisumu’s facilities lacked.

“One of the primary challenges that the county faced in meeting the requirements was a severe lack of funds. In the 2019 county budget, Kisumu had allocated Sh1.3 billion for the modernization of its sports facilities, with a particular focus on the legendary Moi Stadium. However, only about Sh89 million was released, and little to no progress was made in the necessary upgrades. “Nothing more was spent and it was not enough to bring us up to the international standard that FIFA requires,” Odongo added.
In Mombasa, the county government closed the local stadium in 2015, for renovation but the project has stalled.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir blames the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to a low share of the national revenue for the failure to implement the project.
“Refurbishment of the stadium was conceptualised in 2019 and it was projected to cost close to Sh1.8 billion. However, Covid 19 saw county’s own-source revenue drop,” he said in November last year while urging for patience.

Just last week, residents of Nakuru staged a protest in the vicinity of Afraha Stadium after voicing their displeasure with the snail pace of completion off the old stadium that was getting a facelift. With Shs650 million having been used since the closure in 2021, the place still looks like a shell. The perimeter wall is incomplete and seats and not yet in place.
In Kakamega County, the Bukhungu Stadium also has issues bordering on incompetence. With about Ksh 700 million deployed to work on terraces, the facility looks like a ghost. As it stands, the contractors are away and no work is ongoing. Reports suggest that a new tender has been floated but shrouded in mystery regarding pitch elevation. Interestingly the County Government Executive is yet to put a vote on the same. The last two years have been a pain as funds from County Government have been stifled with blame games taking root between the current and former administrations.
In Kiambu County, there have been complaints of slow pace of work particularly around Kirigiti and Thika Stadium but the Sports Department is confident things will improve this year. “We are currently renovating our stadia across various sub-counties and we are hopeful things will turn around well. Thika Stadium was undergoing renovation at the cost of Ksh 250 million and the contractor is on site with focus left on seats, perimeter wall and swimming pool.”
“Kanjeru in Kabete was allocated Shs 200 million and it is 16,000 capacity with works ongoing. In Thigiyo (Limuru) and Kanjue (Lari) we have put in a total Shs 65 million and works are on with contractors on site focusing on wall and pitches. Kirigiti Stadium is for national government but progress looks good and our work is purely supervisory. I know people are impatient, but this Administration has a high completion rate and we are pushing our contractors to ensure by close of this financial year, we release the facilities to the communities,” Sports CEC Osman Korar tells Informer Media.
In Meru, Namwamba was dismayed during an inspection of Kinoru Stadium in December 2022 to discover that it did not meet international standards despite consuming Ksh 1 billion.
“In Meru today to inspect the state of Kinoru Stadium. Disappointed it falls way below international standards and not worth the almost Shs 1 billion spent. Forensic value-for-money audit of all new stadia is imperative. Kenya cannot host FIFA/CAF events without quality facilities,” he posted on social media.

Ababu is also on record criticising governors for naming local stadiums as having international status, terming the trend an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans.
“It is atrocious and an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans how we reduced the stature of sporting facilities in this country. Now we have things like Wang’uru International Stadium in Kirinyaga County. You have Kirigiti International Stadium in Kiambu and Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium, Mamboleo in Kisumu County,” said Namwamba at a function in Nairobi last year.
“The only International thing about those things, because they are not even stadiums is the word “International” in the name,” he added.