Ruto says Wajir stadium will be renamed Ahmed Khalif Wajir Stadium

By Moses KinyanjuiTuesday June 2, 2026

President William Ruto on Monday moved to immortalise a revered Wajir political figure by endorsing a request to rename the newly completed Wajir Stadium as the Ahmed Khalif Wajir Stadium.

The proposal came during the 63rd Madaraka Day celebrations in Wajir County, where Governor Ahmed Abdullahi urged the President to use the landmark as a lasting tribute to the late leader, whom he described as one of the region’s most distinguished sons and a man who rose to the country’s highest political office.

“I am an accidental politician. I engaged in politics for the first time in 2002 not to contest but to help Ahmed Khalif, a man I admired, to reclaim his seat as his campaign manager,” said Governor Abdullahi.

“It would be a befitting tribute for the people of Wajir to name this magnificent stadium the Ahmed Khalif Stadium.”

Ahmed Mohamed Khalif went on to become the first Cabinet Minister from the Wajir region in the Mwai Kibaki administration before his death in a plane crash in January 2003.

In his response, President Ruto accepted the appeal and said his government would ensure the facility is completed to international standards.

“I will make sure that it is complete and is built to international standards. I agree with you that this stadium should be called Ahmed Khalif Wajir Stadium,” he said.

Visibly moved, the President also spoke about the discrimination and exclusion many people from the region have faced, including ethnic profiling and difficulties in obtaining identification cards.

“I want to apologise on behalf of the people of Kenya. It was never meant to be this way. This has been a very emotional moment for me. People here deserve equal dignity and treatment under the law,” he said.

Ruto further clarified that the Presidential Proclamation on the Registration and Issuance of IDs and Birth Certificates in Northern Kenya, signed in February 2025, was never intended to open the door to illegal documentation for foreigners.

“It was not an invitation for foreigners to acquire Kenyan documents illegally. Kenyan identity cards will only be issued to legitimate citizens of this Republic,” he said.

“Our commitment to justice and inclusion goes hand in hand with our duty to protect the integrity of our national identity and the security of our country.”

He also outlined a wider development agenda for the region, pledging a university, expanded roads, new housing units and improved healthcare as part of efforts to bring more services closer to residents.

“We affirm that no community is peripheral to our national story. No child is too far away to deserve opportunity. No citizen is too distant to deserve dignity. No county is too remote to deserve development,” he said.

The Wajir stadium, built in roughly 100 days, is the first of more than 20 facilities the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) is expected to roll out across the country.

Interior Principal Secretary (PS) Raymond Omollo said the project is expected to be finished within a month.

Speaking to reporters in Wajir on Sunday, Omollo said roofing on the 10,000-seater stadium was 60 percent complete, with additional features including a tartan track among the remaining works.