When a gleaming, red athletics tartan track was laid at Ruring’u Stadium in Nyeri in November 2021, it reignited hopes that the long-delayed facility would finally be completed.
Three years later, not a single athlete has set foot on the costly surface, which is now peeling away and is, in fact, unusable, raising the question of the quality of the material used and the work.
According to the AK calendar of events for 2024, Nyeri is scheduled to host the second Track and Field Weekend Meeting from February 27 to March 1 but alas, there will be no venue for this event.
:Part of the running track at Ruring’u Stadium, that was laid in 2021 in this picture taken yesterday. The stadium has been under construction since 2017.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi| Nation Media Group
While addressing journalists at Kagaati grounds in Mathira where he was inspecting the preparation of the upcoming regional cross-country championships, Central AK Chairman David Miano said Nyeri was an ideal location to host a track and field meet given Ruring’u’s central location and accessibility to athletes from five counties in the region.
“As the cross country season comes to a close, paving way for track and field, Athletics Kenya had hoped to bring the national weekend meeting back to its traditional venue in Nyeri, thinking the stadium would be ready by 2025,” he said.
Miano voiced his disappointment over the stadium’s current state, saying it has no capacity to host even a local event, let alone a national meeting.
“This is worrying because Ruring’u Stadium cannot be used. The track is peeling off, the steeplechase zone is missing, and we don’t believe it’s feasible to hold an event there at the moment,” he added.
Miano also highlighted the lack of a standard tartan facility in the region that meets Athletics Kenya’s regulations.
“This will likely force Athletics Kenya to move the event to Thika,” Miano said. According to the calendar, six AK track and field meets will be held this season.
The tartan athletic track at Ruring’u Stadium is already peeling, despite being laid three years ago. The stadium, which has been under construction since 2017, is barely 40 percent complete, and the track has never been used.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi| Nation Media Group
Miano called on the government and other relevant authorities to address the stalled Ruring’u project, emphasizing the need for a proper facility in a region that has produced top athletes who have brought pride to the country
As matter of fact, this was the home training ground for former 10,000m world champion Charles Kamathi, retired world marathon star Catherine Ndereba, former national 5,000m champion Gideon Gathimba, and reigning Africa 20km race walking champion Samuel Gathimba, among others.
Ruring’u also served as a key speed training ground for runners from the neighbouring Kenya Police College, Laikipia Air Base, and Kenya Prisons.
With no suitable stadium in the area, most athletes have relocated their training to Laikipia County’s Nyahururu Stadium and Kiambu County’s Thika Stadium. The Ruring’u Stadium upgrade project started seven years ago and has cost Sh307 million thus far according to area MP Duncan Mathenge .
The project was initially planned to be completed in two phases and was first awarded to Funan Construction from 2017 to 2022 before Comnet Technologies took over the project from 2022 to 2024.
The first phase included a football pitch, an athletic track, a drainage system, and two daises, along with a perimeter fence to be constructed by the county government.
However, even the first phase remains incomplete.
The project is a picture of abandonment—an unfinished dais with exposed metal bars and dislodged rafters, overgrown grass covering the pitch, and a vandalized perimeter fence. Thickets dominate the facility, while the red tartan track is degraded and colonised by weeds.
The facility sits deserted, guarded by four private security personnel.
In an interview with Nation Sports on Monday, Nyeri Town MP Mathenge did not mince words, calling Ruring’u Stadium “a shame to the entire country and its leadership.”
He further claimed that funds allocated for the project under the previous administration were misused. “I have asked the EACC to step in and investigate how Sh307 million was spent on this stadium, yet it remains unusable,” he said.
Mathenge revealed that there is an agreement to monetize the funds generated under the Sports Fund, with a percentage of the revenue specifically allocated for the improvement of sports facilities.
The MP said that with this agreement, instead of waiting for yearly collections, the government has conducted an actuarial assessment with a cash flow projection that enables the country to secure a one-time loan to complete the project at one go.
