Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Residents of Ruai in Nairobi are set for a new dawn following the inauguration of a multi-million-shilling sports complex in the neighbourhood by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) in partnership with Nairobi County.

Dubbed OlympAfrica Centre, the state-of-the art establishment which shall cost Sh300 million, will be erected at Muhuri Muchiri Stadium in Kasarani Constituency.

It will sit on an 11-acre plot that is adjacent to a secondary school named after former Kanu mandarin and Embakasi MP, the late Godfrey Muhuri Muchiri.

The complex will be the second biggest in the country after the Moi International sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani and shall have an indoor arena with facilities for handball, tennis, volleyball, table tennis and swimming.

Also to be upgraded to international standards is the outdoor football pitch that is currently being used by local teams in the national leagues.

The complex will also serve as a training venue for national teams ahead of international assignments.

During the ground-breaking ceremony yesterday, Nairobi Governor Anne Kananu said the upcoming venture will be the best thing to happen to local sports that have in the past grappled with lack of enough infrastructures.

“This is a milestone in our journey to ensure that we tap talent in sports to the fullest and I must take this opportunity to thank NOC-K for especially choosing Ruai amongst many preferred localities whose names had been earmarked for the complex to stand,” said Kananu.

Moreover, Kananu said it will also create employment for the area youth and called on the Principal Secretary for Sports to ensure only the dwellers of the cosmopolitan estate are considered for menial jobs when construction starts at an unspecified date.

Land grabbing

Kananu particularly thanked Embakasi Ranch, whose chairman was Muchiri, for safeguarding the ground against grabbing which is prevalent in most parts of the country.

The programme manager Janet Muthoni Ouko, who is also the Nairobi County Education and Sports Executive, said this was a God-given opportunity for Ruai residents.

NOC-K President Paul Tergat said the decision to have the complex constructed in Ruai was one of their deliberate policies to give back to the community.

“I want to urge the youth to use the facilities to improve their skills which will in turn give them an opportunity to represent Kenya at the international level,” said Tergat who was flanked by other NOC-K Executive members including Barnaba Korir and Paurvi Rawal.             

       –