Dandora Stadium is set to open its doors to the public after six years.
Nairobi Governor Sakaja Johnson will on Friday, March 8, open the Dandora Stadium after the completion of the construction of the sports facility.
"Dandora Stadium's opening is a welcome opportunity for young people to develop their talent. This will foster opportunities in sports and aid in protecting our youth's future,” Sakaja said.
The Sh350 million Dandora Stadium was awarded to M/s Scanjet Construction Limited.
Dandora Stadium is designed and constructed per FIFA international standards to grow the sports landscape in Nairobi.
When construction works resumed, Dandora residents played a fundamental role in the construction of the Dandora Stadium by providing labour.
According to the City Hall, once opened to the public, over 30 football teams will have a chance to utilize the facility at affordable fees.
This will guarantee youth engagement for monetizing their talents and abstain from vices like robbery and alcohol and drug abuse due to idleness.
The facility has steel structures to hold the terraces on either side of the Fifa standard pitch (100mx64m at the chalk line).
The Stadium also has seats in all their stands with a VIP terrace located in the middle of the furthest stand.
Changing rooms, a fully fitted gym, referee quarters, a stadium manager's office and public toilets for spectators will be put in place.
Construction of the Stadium started during former governor Mike Sonko’s tenure in 2019.
It was among four stadiums that were to be constructed at Sh1.03 billion.
The other modern sports facilities include Bp Riruta Stadium (Dagoreti south), Kihumbuini (Westlands), Woodley (Kibra), and Umeme, Kariokor (Starehe).
The stadium should have been completed in July 2021, but work stopped when it was 80 per cent done.
The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority June 13, 2019, received a complaint that steel structures were being used in clear contravention of the contract specifications for the Dandora stadium.
According to the authority, it flagged irregularities in the awarding of the tender, alteration of contract specifications, suspected irregular payments and forgery of documents.
As a result, EACC started investigating alleged irregularities in the procurement process for the construction of the stadium in 2019.
In February 2021, Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta called upon the completion of the project and said the investigations should not hinder people's right to access and enjoy stadium facilities.
He emphasized that the culprits found guilty will face charges.
However, in 2021, the Senate Labour and Social Welfare committee which was then chaired by Sakaja (then Nairobi Senator) ordered the resumption of work at the stadium.
This was after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission said it did not order construction works to stop at the stadium.
EACC had told the Senate that then, they were only investigating the matter but the completion of the stadium was in the hands of the county government.
“When EACC commenced investigations it didn’t advise the contractor to stop works. The project is tied to a contract between the county government and a contractor, ” David Too, director of legal services at EACC said at that time.
Too, also said Nairobi county through their county attorney should look at the contract and advise on the way forward.
He said EACC was at the time progressing with its investigation as a priority due to public interest, amounts involved and that it was slowed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
After two years of stalemate, construction works at the Dandora Stadium resumed in April 2023, following an intervention by Governor Sakaja.
