Residents in Nairobi waiting to access Uhuru and Central Parks are going to wait a little longer as renovation works are still ongoing in the parks.

Defence CS Aden Duale however assured Nairobi residents that once the works were complete, Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) will hand the amenities back to the Nairobi County government.

“We shall hand over the amenities when all the works complete soon,” Duale said.

This comes after Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna over the weekend raised concerns over the prolonged closure of Uhuru Park asking for an explanation for the prolonged closure.

The park has been closed since September 2021 as it underwent renovation and was facelifted by the Kenya Defence Forces.

In a letter addressed to the CS, the Senator said that he had received complaints over the closure of the park stating that the facility was scheduled to be opened in December 2023.

“If not handed back, what underlying issues continue to delay the return of the park to public use,” reads the letter.

In the letter, the Senator asks the CS to disclose if works are still ongoing and when they expect to hand back the facilities back to the county government.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja also confirmed that contractors are still on site as works still ongoing.

“They (KDF) haven’t handed over. The contractors are still at Uhuru Park and are also not done at Central Park,” he said.

The parks have been under renovation since September 2021 under the KDF through defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services to bring them up to international park standards and have since not been opened to the public.

Uhuru Park however has been opened twice to host the fun-filled fair, Nairobi festival in December 2022 and 2023 to celebrate and display what the Governor terms as the  “vibe of the city”.

Uhuru Park has always been a spot for hosting huge political rallies in the lead-up to general elections.