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KIRINGITI STADIUM BEATS JOMO KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL STADIUM HANDS DOWN

Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu is a national monument of shame and embarrassment to the Lake Region. It doesn't tick any boxes of a truly international stadium. The artistic impression images of the stadium widely shared on the internet does not match - by any stretch of the imagination - the delivered project, like a chopper to a motor car wreckage. Only a complete makeover can bridge the gap, a makerover which by all indication, isn't going to happen. The stadium has no walls at all, only a cheap tin roof hoisted high on concrete beams giving it the look of an old city ruin. The stands aren’t one continuous block, instead they are a patchwork of disjointed concrete slabs under tin roofed sheds much like cattle pens in one huge factory farm. The stadium is better than nothing, but that's all it is; better than nothing.

A section of Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium, Kisumu (coutersy: the star newspaper)

To call it “international” is an insult to the English language. Mind you, this is a national government project, launched by a whole cabinet secretary, inspected by none other than the President himself. If JKIS is was supposed to be a handshake goody, then it has failed miserably. And it was meant just for that: to quell the anger of Nyanza after a disputed election. JKIS has done anything but. Compare this to the Kiringiti Stadium in Kiambu county – a low key stadium that no one even talks about – it pales in comparison. Mind you, Kiringiti doesn’t even boast of the tittle “national” or “international” but the stadium is the real deal. Kiringiti Stadium is not even complete yet but it’s already looks more aesthetically appealing than Jomo Kenyatta in Kisumu. Lest we forget, Kiringiti stadium received a bigger budgetary allocation (Sh600 million) than Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium (a paltry sh498 million). Now, which deserve the tittle “international”? Decide for yourself. Construction at the Kiringiti Stadium, Kiambu County (Coutersy: Kenya News Agency)

Anything for political points, but this is beyond ridiculous. Of course the people of Kisumu will take it - it’s far much better than nothing – but it will serve a stern reminder not to wait upon the so-called national government goodies, and simply do stuff on their own.

 

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