Works at Ithookwe Stadium on course ahead of Mashujaa Day

Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports of Kenya, Salim Mvurya, praised the progress made in the construction of Ithookwe Stadium in Kitui County and revealed that the much-awaited facility will be built to international standards.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday after completing an inspection, Mvurya confirmed that the facility, which is earmarked to host this year’s Mashujaa Day celebrations, is 96 percent complete.

The remaining bits will be handled in the next week, ahead of the celebrations organizing committee taking charge of the preparations.  

The government has also liaised with the Kenya Urban and Rural Roads Authority (KURRA) to build several roads to ease access during Mashujaa Day.

An 885-meter perimeter wall will be constructed around the facility to buffer it from encroachment.

The stadium was to be handed over to the celebrations committee on 7 October 2025. However, the remaining work of building a canopy and fine-tuning the drainage system meant the handing over had to be rescheduled for 14 October 2025.

Other auxiliary works for the stadium to meet international standards, the CS said, his team will have to return to the site after Mashujaa Day celebrations to ensure everything is put in place.

He urged Kitui local football teams to use the facility to fine-tune their skills for local and national competitions. FC Dynamo, a Kitui-based football club currently playing in the Division One tier in FKF league structures, absorbed this challenge.

Mvurya was flanked by Kitui governor Dr. Julius Makau Malombe, Ministry of Interior and National Administration Permanent Secretary Dr. Raymond Omollo, State Department for Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports Principal Secretary Elijah Mwangi, and Livestock Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke, among others.