Kinunga stadium, the forgotten gem in Nyeri

Kinunga Stadium in Nyeri hosts most sporting competitions in the count,y but it has neither usable toilets nor running water.

With the delayed competition of Ruring'u Stadium, Kinunga becomes the venue of choice for sporting events due to its proximity to Nyeri town, and its accessibility.

In the last two years, Kinunga Stadium has hosted more football tournaments and other sporting events than any other sports facility in Nyeri County.

But vandals and scrap metal dealers have descended on the stadium and carted away construction material, making a bad situation worse. It has had no usable toilets nor running water for more than two years.

Nyeri County government fenced off the stadium with a chain-link and built an ablution block in 2019.

In addition, the county government built a basketball court which is the only such public facility in the county, but it has never been used for four years since it was poorly constructed.

The stadium has no changing rooms and terraces for fans, and during sporting events, players are forced to change into their competition kits inside their buses.

Alternatively, they must form a human ring at the centre of the pitch to provide a semblance of privacy so that players can change into their kits. Still, some players take cover behind a huge indigenous tree at one end of the stadium to wear their uniforms.

Joe Kimani, an official of local football team Marafiki FC, described the stadium as one of the best venues for high-altitude training and competition due to its serene environment and the fact that it is away from urban pollution.

“This is a gem in a village. So many teams that come to compete here usually beg to return and train here because of the altitude dose they get here. Sadly, our county officials do not recognise that so as to allocate more money for maintenance," said Kimani.

The official wondered how such a key facility can be in such a status yet the county has been having a sports budget for over a decade.

"During rainy weather, fans stay away from our games because there are no sheds for fans, and the drainage is poor," posed Kimani.

He decried the wanton vandalism at the facility, blaming it on lack of security and poor management of the stadium.

“Vandals carted away a big part of the chain link fence at the stadium. We pulled down the fence at the basketball court and used it to repair that section of the main fence,” Kimani said.

Nyeri County Assembly official in charge of Sports and Youth, Wilfred Wambari, blamed it on lack of commitment to development of sporting talent in the county..

“This is a bare land with no infrastructure. How then can we keep talking about growing sports in the county if we don't address the basic issues at hand? We have had Gor Mahia and other big teams play at Kinunga Stadium, but fans would have to sit on the grass to watch these games,” he said.

Local trader Joseph Mwaura reckons the stadium has boosted the local economy of Kinunga trading centre in Tetu Constituency.

"Whenever there is a football match here, we usually register huge sales. We urge Nyeri County government to improve the stadium to attract more matches here," said Mwaura.

Gibson Wahinya, the chairman of Nyeri County Assembly Finance Committee said that Sh500,000 has been allocated for repairs at the stadium in the current financial year.

Wahinya is Member of County Assembly for Dedan Kimathi Ward where Kinunga Stadium is situated.

Nyeri Sports Executive Margaret Macharia said she was yet to familiarise herself with the current state of the stadium but pledged to send offices to inspect it this week.