After more than 14 years of neglect, the stalled Nakuru Trauma Centre is finally set for revival, with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) taking charge of its reconstruction following a presidential directive.
The facility, located at the Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital, was first launched in 2011 as a Ksh100 million project meant to serve accident victims along the deadly Nairobi–Nakuru–Eldoret highway. But barely a year after groundbreaking, the contractor abandoned the site despite receiving more than Ksh30 million, leaving behind an incomplete structure fenced off by iron sheets.
Speaking during the new groundbreaking ceremony, Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya said the renewed works mark the end of years of broken promises that denied thousands of accident victims timely emergency care. She noted that the Northern Corridor has endured some of Kenya’s worst crashes, yet lacked a properly equipped trauma facility.
“Today we say no more waiting due to abandonment and unfulfilled promises,” she said.
Governor Susan Kihika revealed that the revival followed her June 11 meeting at State House, where President William Ruto directed KDF to take over and complete the Trauma Centre, as well as Afraha and Olenguruone stadia. KDF engineers, architects and quantity surveyors have since conducted full site assessments and submitted a technical report to guide the reconstruction.
According to Governor Kihika, the redesigned Trauma Centre will include a 57-bed capacity, expanded ICU unit with 22 beds, dedicated male and female trauma wards, two operating theatres, and a diagnostic laboratory. She said the project is crucial for saving lives, especially along the crash-prone Sachangwan–Salgaa–Sobea stretch.
The centre has a painful history, tracing back to the 2009 Sachangwan tanker tragedy that claimed more than 130 lives. The disaster prompted former President Mwai Kibaki to commission the Trauma Centre, but the project collapsed due to poor supervision and confusion between county and national government mandates.
Funding for the project was originally allocated through the defunct Ministry of Special Programmes and partly from the Sachangwan/Nakumatt Fire Fundraiser, but the money was never fully utilized.
Governor Kihika said completing the Trauma Centre will finally give Nakuru residents and transit passengers access to specialized emergency care. She noted that many accident victims over the years could have survived had they received timely treatment.
KDF is also set to fast-track construction works at Afraha Stadium and Olenguruone Stadium, where previous contractors stalled despite being paid significant sums. The county says it has already submitted structural plans and Bills of Quantities to guide KDF’s involvement.
The new push, county leaders say, is expected to restore public confidence, create jobs and accelerate the delivery of long-delayed health and sports infrastructure across Nakuru County.
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