President William Ruto has announced that the under-construction Talanta Sports Stadium along Ngong Road in Nairobi will be renamed Raila Amolo Odinga International Stadium once completed.
The announcement came during the nation’s Jamhuri Day celebrations, following a request by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.
Raila Odinga, who passed away on October fifteenth, 2025, at the age of eighty, was a towering figure in Kenyan politics. He served as the country’s Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013 and contested the presidency five times. Odinga died in Kochi, India, after suffering a cardiac arrest while undergoing medical treatment.
His death prompted a period of national mourning and tributes from leaders across Africa and the world. He was laid to rest at his farm in Bondo after a state funeral.
Talanta Sports Stadium, located at Jamhuri Grounds roughly ten kilometres west of Nairobi’s central business district, is a world-class facility with a seating capacity of sixty thousand.
Construction is currently seventy percent complete and is scheduled for completion by March 2026, ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya will co-host with Uganda and Tanzania.
The stadium has been purpose-built for football and rugby, excluding an athletics track to enhance the fan experience and meet international standards.
Its design features a roof canopy supported by hydraulically tensioned steel cables, a first in East Africa. The facility will include seven changing rooms, VIP lounges, media centres, VAR booths, and goal-line technology, as well as media facade lighting inspired by the Allianz Arena.
Once complete, Raila Amolo Odinga International Stadium will serve as a hub for major sporting events, concerts, and national celebrations.
The renaming is intended as a tribute to Odinga’s decades-long influence on Kenyan politics and his enduring legacy in the country’s social and political life.
