Why the Talanta fiasco is mainly about evading questions on its runaway cost
Peter Kimani
By
Peter Kimani
| Oct 30, 2026
The late-afternoon news alert to journos was terse: “Prezzo Ruto to Deliver Major Announcement.” The devil, however, was in the details. This major announcement, the notice went on, would be recorded and delivered on official government social media platforms.
Then speculation set in. What announcement of major consequence could Prezzo Ruto possibly deliver from outside the country? Was he not returning home? Well, these are tough times and when the tough gets going, it’s possible for one to abdicate.
And why was the message recorded? This element was particularly intriguing, given Prezzo Ruto love of “launching” projects. More speculation swirled. Perhaps he had decided he would not defend his set next year, as someone had suggested, to avoid a potential humiliation at the polls.
That, too, made sense, especially if the intent was to avoid crowds camping at his doorstep to persuade him to reconsider his decision. But this viewpoint did not hold water for long, after all, Prezzo Ruto doesn’t even know his opponent yet.
Some folks then turned to government manenos. Maybe it could be that Prezzo Ruto had dissolved his Cabinet to avert a much-anticipated decree from the courts, which declared his Cabinet unconstitutional for violating the two-third gender rule.
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Again, this didn’t make a lot of sense because Prezzo Ruto isn’t known for observing court orders; in fact, he admonishes the courts for impeding his work, which is why he proceeded with the ground-breaking ceremony of the Lamu refinery despite express orders from the court to halt any works.
To everyone’s consternation, the “major” announcement, it turned out, was a friendly footie match at Talanta Stadium, now the Raila Odinga International Stadium, where two European big guns will be hosted to launch the stadium next January.
I’m not sure why this “big” announcement couldn’t wait for Prezzo Ruto’s return from his trip abroad. Maybe it was to avert questions about the cost of hosting the European teams—he tends to be irked by such questions—or if he’s aware that it’s African players who keep the European teams going. I think he mainly stayed away to evade questions about the cost of building the stadium, which was revised multiple times.