A move by Nandi County to turn Kipchoge Keino Stadium into a market centre has sparked uproar.
The decision followed the adoption of the Kapsabet Municipality Master Plan by the county assembly, which is set to roll out the expansion of the Central Business District (CBD) and implementation of National Government programmes in the county town headquarters.
According to the master plan, an existing market has been earmarked for relocation to the 8.7-acre Kipchoge Keino stadium. If implemented, the plan would see the sports facility converted to a market estimated to gobble Sh350 million.
The projected 15,000- capacity sports complex with an indoor arena will be moved to the 25-acre Kapsabet showgrounds. However, the move has been met with backlash as the residents rejected the plan owing to interference with the iconic public utilities regarded as the embodiment of athletics and agricultural features of the community. The relocation of the market in the CBD will pave the way for expansion of the bus terminal that is currently congested and inconvenient to businesses.
Fred Kipkemboi, a resident, claimed that relocation of the market centre in the CBD to Kipchoge Keino Stadium will expose learning institutions to environmental hazards.
Among the institutions that will be affected, include AC Tagat Primary School, AC Tegat Junior School, Kapsabet Muslim School and Kapsabet Township Primary School. “Having a market near the schools is disastrous. The learners will be distracted by noises and garbage that will be disposed to the schools environs. We need the county to reconsider this and purchase another land to put up the market project,” he stated.
He said the framers of the municipality master plan ignored critical facilities housing over 2,000 learners, and argued that the environmental issues will inevitably hinder its implementation process.
Kapsabet Showground was a traditional facility used to host agricultural showbiz and farmers’ field days, but since then, the gardens have been abandoned, and churches are using it to hold their events.
The chair of the Football Kenya Federation in Nandi Lattif Korir said that relocation of the training centre means being ungracious to the retired track and field athlete, Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino, who the stadium was named after. “The county was willing to elevate it to a standard level stadium that could cost Sh100 Million, and the change of plans is misplaced. We are going to lose what we remember as Kenya’s pioneers in track races,” he lamented.
He said that the stadium has been the training grounds for football players in Kapsabet town and its environs, and called upon the county to refurbish instead of relocating it. Public participation is expected to be conducted today in Kapsabet Town for residents to deliberate on the implementation of the town planning.
