Nyayo National Stadium, which played host to former President Daniel Moi’s State funeral service, is an iconic multi-purpose sports facility.
Named after Moi’s “Nyayo” philosophy, the arena’s historical relevance and impact on the Kenyan sporting and political events cannot be gainsaid.Built in 1983 and strategically located near the city centre, the 30,000 capacity facility is the second biggest stadium in Kenya.It is the venue of choice for many sporting, political, social and even religious events, with AFC Leopards preferring it for their football home matches.
The stadium was designed by architect and politician George Nyanja on President Moi’s orders in a bid to position Kenya as a regional kingpin in as far as playing host to regional and international events is concerned.The fourth 1987 All Africa Games, in which Kenya was a participant, were the first international major events to be held at Nyayo National Stadium.Despite Kenya’s Harambee Stars losing 0-1 to Egypt in the finals, they acquired themselves a lifetime supporter in the then President Moi, who together with his entire Cabinet cheered throughout the loss.
The facility boasts of a Fifa approved standard size football pitch, which has also hosted huge gatherings, including concerts, national celebrations, meetings, and religious crusades.The facility also has an Olympic-size swimming pool, plus an indoor and outdoor arena where activities such as basketball, handball, volleyball, boxing, badminton and martial arts, among other games, are held.
Moreover, it has two VIP lounges, a boardroom, and an Internet-enabled media centre. What’s more, the facility houses headquarters for the Football Kenya Federation and Athletics Kenya.Soon after the 1987 All Africa Games, the stadium remained at the centre of local and international sports events, including Fifa World Cup qualifiers, Cecafa tournaments, the Kenyan Premier League, international athletics meets and rugby games.
The venue was so dear to President Moi that he chose it to play host to numerous national celebrations such as Madaraka and Jamhuri days during his 24-year rule.In his last event at the facility, Moi made the famous statement that he had forgiven anyone that might have wronged him and asked anyone that he might have wronged to forgive him.President Uhuru Kenyatta has also consistently held national celebrations at the facility, with the 55th Jamhuri Day celebrations standing out.
During the fete in 2018, Uhuru showed up at Nyayo stadium clad in full military regalia to preside over the celebrations.The military regalia is ceremonial attire that can be won by the Commander-in-Chief and Uhuru was the third Kenyan president to preside over a national function in full military uniform after first president Jomo Kenyatta and Moi.In 2009, the stadium welcomed African teams from across the continent for the Fifa World Cup qualifiers, where Kenya battled it out with Guinea and Zimbabwe and Tunisia, leading to an oversubscribed attendance by fans.
The stadium also played host to the 2010 African Championship games in Athletics, yet again giving a chance to Kenyan athletes to showcase their prowess.Despite the event initially being proposed to be held at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani, they were moved to Nyayo, where the Kenyan team emerged the winners, bagging 25 medals.
Sporting events
To date, the stadium hosts mostly sporting events with the biggest beneficiaries of the facility being AFC Leopards and rugby club Mwamba RFC for their home games.Politically, the stadium has hosted countless rallies and even launched presidential bids such as that of Mwai Kibaki in 2007, when he announced he was seeking to be re-elected for a second time, having already served five years as president and even more as Othaya Member of Parliament.
During the 2013 General Election, the grounds were a favourite for the Raila Odinga-led CORD coalition that held its memorable last rally at the grounds in their renewed push to clinch the country’s top seat.On the entertainment front, the stadium has hosted concerts graced by some of the greats such as Kanda Bongoman, who held an iconic concert at the stadium in 1991. Annual events such as the Safaricom jazz international festival and the Kenyans for Kenyans concerts have been hosted at the stadium.
Three years ago, the stadium was temporarily closed for renovations ahead of the 2018 Africa Nations Championship (Chan) that Kenya had won the rights to host.This, however, did not happen because the renovation works were not completed within the 90-day window period. The renovations were, however, completed just in time to give Moi a befitting send-off mid this week.
