County extends Afraha stadium reopening date

It was a chaotic scene at the old Town Hall as Nakuru residents locked horns with county officials demanding answers on the delay in the reopening of Afraha Stadium, which has been undergoing rehabilitation for the past three years.

The project, which was supposed to take 18 months to complete, has dragged on with most stakeholders in the sports fraternity unhappy.

At one point, Nakuru residents who had gathered at the town hall started making noise to express their frustration over the matter.

In an attempt to salvage the situation, the county secretary, Dr Samuel Mwaura, called a meeting with the protesting citizens to explain to them why the stadium had remained unfinished for so long and to find an amicable solution.

As the meeting got underway, the frustration and anger on the faces of those present was palpable, with perhaps only one question on their minds: when will the stadium be opened to the public?

For the most part, the meeting took a turn for the worse, with attendees disagreeing on what direction the meeting should take.

The question and answer sessions between the county government and the stakeholders turned chaotic for most of the meeting.

As time went on, both parties seemed to be circling around the same issues, with no clear sense of direction and no clear decision being made.

The County Secretary decided to answer the question everyone wanted to know.

"We will reopen the stadium for use in the next four months," he said.

Dr Mwaura says the county government is ready to walk hand in hand with the stakeholders for the duration of this period and has tasked the members to elect a committee that will oversee the progress of Afraha Stadium until the four-month period is over.