Kipchoge Keino Stadium: Top Athletes Petition Court to Save Historic Sports Ground

Several athletes have petitioned court to block Nandi County’s plan to demolish Kipchoge Keino Stadium for redevelopment, citing heritage concerns.

If there is one thing uniting generations of Kenya’s runners, it is their reverence for Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Kapsabet but now, the iconic sports ground faces demolition.

A group of retired and active athletes has filed a petition at the High Court in Eldoret seeking to quash Nandi County’s plans to convert the facility into a modern market and housing project.

“In a Constitutional democracy like Kenya, the respondents were required to abandon the plans to change the user of Kipchoge Stadium upon the residents expressing overwhelming disapproval of the same during the limited public participation exercise undertaken by the second respondent (County Assembly of Nandi),” the group’s lawyer Kibe Mungai said in court papers as per Nation.

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The petitioners, including retired sprinter and middle-distance runner Tecla Chemabwai Sang, argue that the plans are unlawful and contrary to the wishes of stakeholders and residents who opposed the project during a December 2024 forum.

The county government, county assembly, the Cabinet Secretary for Lands and Housing, the National Land Commission, and the Attorney-General have all been named as respondents in the case. Justice Patrick Otieno has certified the matter urgent and directed the parties to file responses.

A Stadium of History and Identity

The stadium, formally known as Kapsabet (Kipchoge) Stadium, was established in the 1970s and upgraded in 2016 at a cost of Sh295.4 million.

According to the petitioners, tearing it down would amount to “unadulterated wastage of public resources and unreasonable expenditure of public money.”

“There is no lawful cause, reasonable grounds or justification for the planned demolition and relocation of Kipchoge Stadium to showground land. The Petitioners are convinced that the planned demolition of the stadium and relocation is actuated by ulterior motives namely the grabbing of prime land within Kapsabet town under the guise of construction of a modern market,” alleges lawyer Mungai.

The athletes warn that dismantling the facility undermines the state’s duty to support sports and youth employment, particularly in the North Rift region, which has produced world-class athletes.

Petitioners Cry Foul Over Land Use

Court documents show that the county assembly’s land, environment, and natural resources committee approved the change of user in January 2025, giving the green light for redevelopment.

Under the plan, 8.7 acres of the stadium land would host a modern market, while the current market space would be converted into a matatu and bus park.

Sporting activities would be shifted to the Eliud Kipchoge Sports Complex on 25 acres, with part of the showground allocated for affordable housing projects.

“To the extent that the people of Nandi County were involved in some inadequate and centralized public participation event, they unanimously opposed the planned demolition and relocation of Kipchoge Stadium,” lawyer Mungai said.

The petitioners argue that athletics is not only a cultural cornerstone but also a major source of employment in the region, and that demolishing the stadium would “deprive the athletic sports stakeholders, the Nandi community and residents of the North Rift of their right to protection of law.”

County’s Position

Governor Stephen Sang’s administration has previously defended the redevelopment plan, saying it would expand Kapsabet’s central business district, spur economic growth, and create jobs.

The county has yet to formally respond to the suit, but insists the project is part of the municipality’s master plan aligned with national development programs.

Still, the petitioners maintain that the stadium’s demolition would erode green space and harm the environment, aesthetics, and cultural fabric of Kapsabet.