President William Ruto has launched the construction of a modern 10,000-seater stadium in Wajir Town and announced that this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations will be hosted in Wajir County, marking a historic first for Northern Kenya.
The announcement came during the president’s two-day development tour of the North Eastern region, where he has been presiding over the disbursement of NYOTA Project Business Support Grants to youth beneficiaries in Garissa, Mandera, and Wajir as part of the government’s broader push for regional inclusion and economic empowerment.
Cabinet Secretary for Youth, Creative Economy and Sports Salim Mvurya said the government has committed significant resources to the stadium project, underscoring its national importance beyond sports infrastructure.
“The government has allocated KSh900 million towards the construction of a modern 10,000-seater stadium in Wajir County,” Mvurya said.
He noted that the state-of-the-art facility is expected to nurture local sporting talent, stimulate economic activity, and position Wajir as a new national events destination.
“The facility will not only nurture talent and stimulate the local economy but will also host the first-ever national celebrations in Northern Kenya since Independence, reaffirming H.E. President William Ruto’s deliberate agenda of inclusion, unity, and balanced national growth,” he added.
Mvurya described the groundbreaking ceremony as a defining moment for the region’s sports and development landscape.
“I accompanied H.E. the President during the groundbreaking ceremony in Wajir Town, a historic milestone that marks a new dawn for sports development in Northern Kenya,” he said.
Hosting Madaraka Day in Wajir is widely seen as a symbolic and practical step toward integrating historically marginalised regions into the national development agenda, while the stadium project is expected to create jobs, boost local businesses, and expand opportunities for youth through sports and related industries.
The President’s North Eastern tour, combining infrastructure investment, youth enterprise funding through NYOTA, and the national celebrations announcement, signals a coordinated government effort to accelerate socio-economic transformation across the region.
Local leaders and residents have welcomed the developments, expressing optimism that the investments will enhance visibility, unlock opportunity, and usher in a new era of growth for Wajir and the wider North Eastern region.