Ruto tells contractor: You have sabotaged CHAN

Kenya president William Ruto has accused the contractor that is renovating the Bukhungu Stadium of sabotaging Kakamega’s bid to stage 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) matches.

Bukhungu is just one of several projects lagging behind as Kenya risk losing its status as co-hosts of the biennial tournament, with construction at the Kasarani and Nyayo Stadiums also incomplete.

Ruto made an unplanned visit to the site on Wednesday and was disappointed at the lack of progress made by the contractor, who was supposed to have completed the job by September 2024.

The President has now given the contractor an ultimatum to ensure the stadium is ready by June 2026, having seen the people of Kakamega robbed of the chance to see the beautiful game brought to their town next month.

“What is going on because we gave you a job. You just need to say, ‘I have no capacity’ so that we can get somebody else because you cannot hold us ransom,” Ruto told the contractor.

“You are a notorious contractor for abandoning projects. You start work here, do a little, then move on to another site, do a little there. That is not acceptable.

“We cannot have a project like this that was supposed to take several months taking years. [former governor Wycliffe] Oparanya was here, he has gone, two years [current governor Fernandes] Barasa is in office and myself nothing is moving.

“When I came in and I was requested by the country to support this project, we decided to support this project because we wanted to use it for CHAN. But when the CHAN team came to assess, they said there is no way this project is going to be availed by February because CHAN is next month.

“You have sabotaged the people of Kakamega from participating in the CHAN competition. This stadium must be finished in June next year. 2026 is next year and the people of Kakamega must be able to use it.”

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) gave Kenya until 31 December 2024 to complete work on Kasarani and Nyayo, and it remains to be seen whether the East African country will host games at all when the tournament gets underway on February 1.