New Machakos park a hit with Nairobi residents

one of the sailing boats at Machakos people's park. Photo/FILE

What you need to know:

  • The Park was officially opened to the public on Valentines Day with county governor Dr Alfred Mutua offering visitors free entertainment for three days which ended Sunday.

Machakos County was the place of choice for hundreds of weekenders as they visited the town to enjoy the beauty of the newly opened Machakos People's Park.

The Park was officially opened to the public on Valentines Day with county governor Dr Alfred Mutua offering visitors free entertainment for three days which ended Sunday.

Traffic police put the number of visitors to the park for the three days at 5,000.

Most visitors came from Nairobi and the nearby counties of Kiambu, Mkueni and Kitui.

A number of families from the coast and who were on transit to Nairobi found time to divert to Machakos to sample the beauty of the park which presented plenty of activities for children and adults alike.

The open air amphitheater was the star attraction of the three days as hundreds jammed the place to watch the invited artists perform.

Musician Jaguar stole the show as he gave an electrifying performance that left fans asking for more.

In his brief address Dr Mutua, who received a standing ovation from the crowd, said apart from offering a moment of relaxation and entertainment to visitors the county government projects to generate Sh100million annually.

He said the park with a capacity to host 10,000 visitors is one of its kind in Africa, complete with a field amphitheatre.

Among the top government officials who visited the park was the Deputy Inspector General Mr Francis Ndegwa Muhoro who said he was satisfied with security apparatus at the facility.

Mr Muhoro said he was particularly impressed by a round the clock CCTV monitoring devices placed around the park and the deployment of sniffer dogs to help boost security.

"This is the type of venture I will encourage any governor to go for, security is paramount and people feel more secure with such apparatus in place", Mr Muhoro said on Friday.

A visitor from Nairobi, Mr Paul Odeny said Kenyans have always yearned for such openings.

"This is something that will definitely provide social amenity that Kenyans have been denied by previous regimes", he said.

Another visitor, Mr Francis Karanja from Kiambu said he has found a perfect place to bring his children for an outing.

"Wait until the schools are closed, Machakos will be our destination me and my children", he said.

Among the features which were on offer to the first batch of visitors on Sunday were water fountains, children’s play area, miniature golf, restaurants, solar exhibition stand, conference facilities and sailing boats.