Ndindi Nyoro warns Ksh.44.7B Talanta stadium bond could cost Kenyans Ksh.100B

The Ksh.44.7 billion bond issued by Linzi Finco to fund the construction of the Talanta Sports Stadium has sparked sharp criticism, with former National Assembly Budget Chair Ndindi Nyoro warning that the initiative could saddle Kenyans with expensive debt.

The 60,000-seater Talanta Sports Complex, expected to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, is now at the centre of a growing funding controversy.

The government is banking on a securitisation fundraising model to support the mega project, a move that has divided opinion within economic and political circles.

President William Ruto launched the project in Nairobi with fanfare, but his former budget chair has raised the alarm, accusing the administration of adopting a risky financing approach that lacks transparency and long-term viability.

“The government is coming up with these new facilities to hoodwink us that our debt is good, but in the real sense, we are now running two sets of debt books,” said Ndindi Nyoro.

According to the Kiharu legislator, the Ksh.44.7 billion bond could end up costing taxpayers up to Ksh.100 billion by the time it matures, which he says amounts to a hidden debt burden that future generations will be forced to shoulder.

“The maturity of this loan of Ksh.44.7 billion means we could pay up to Ksh.100 billion. If this cannot make us angry as Kenyans, I don’t know what will,” said Nyoro.

“Every child born in the next 15 years will have a loan tag for money they have no idea how it was used.”

President Ruto defended the funding model, telling attendees at the Nairobi Securities Exchange that the bond issuance is part of a broader innovation in public finance.

He listed it alongside other initiatives such as the government-to-government fuel supply programme and asset-backed infrastructure securitisation, which he said has already raised Ksh.175 billion outside the traditional budget.

But Nyoro remains unconvinced, claiming that some senior Treasury officials are themselves skeptical.

“I can tell you without blinking an eye that top Treasury officials who have experience are not in support of this move,” he said.

Despite the concerns, the government maintains that its new borrowing instruments through the NSE will strengthen Kenya’s capacity to fund key infrastructure projects using local capital, thereby reducing the country’s reliance on foreign loans.