This archive report was first published on 6 September 2019.
Driving through Murang'a County, one cannot help but notice the stark contrast between the county's grand plans for its sports facilities and the reality on the ground.
As of 2019, the county had no single standard stadium, with most of its sports facilities in a state of disrepair. The situation is particularly dire at Gakoigo Stadium in Maragua, which was established in the 1960s as an arena for agricultural trade fairs, public rallies, and sports.
Despite its rich history, the stadium is now a shadow of its former self, with a dusty red loam soil pitch, rusty goalposts, and a steeplechase pool filled with rocks and plastic containers. The only complete thing in the stadium is a perimeter wall, but even that is incomplete, with no gate to speak of.
Area Member of County Assembly Zablon Machugu blamed the county government for not doing enough to develop the facility, saying, 'This is supposed to be the county's sports hub because there is enough space for everything. The county government should have prioritised this stadium to not only promote sporting talent but also the economy of this place.'
Approximately 15 kilometres away in Kiharu Constituency, the situation is not any different at the popular Ihura Stadium situated along Kenyatta Highway in Murang'a town. A contractor's signage hidden between an old ablution block and the gate paints a picture of a modern sports facility, but the reality on the ground is different.
The county government has installed seven floodlights around the stadium, sunk a borehole to irrigate the grass, and erected a perimeter wall around the facility. However, the stadium sits on a smaller parcel of land that cannot accommodate a standard sports facility.
Despite the county's plans to upgrade its sports facilities, including earmarking nine stadiums for upgrading to at least national status, the reality is that the county has no single standard stadium. Murang'a Sports Executive Edward Muiruri said that the county has set aside Sh100 million in the 2019/2020 financial year for the upgrading of the stadiums, but declined to state how much money has been allocated for each stadium or when the work is expected to be complete.
