The Uasin Gishu County government has pulled down athlete statues in Eldoret town after an uproar on social media over the poor  workmanship of the sculptors.

An uproar erupted after the Uasin Gishu county unveiled several monuments as part of beautification to welcome the Eldoret city’s status for the town.

The government had fulfilled everything for the official conferment of Eldoret as the fifth city in Kenya.

President William Ruto and other senior government officials, local leaders and athletes are expected to grace the event at Eldoret Sports Club grounds on Thursday August 15, 2024.

According to Kenyans on social media, the athlete statues were poorly done, and could be as a result of misusing public money. 

Sources indicate that a senior government official was annoyed by the monuments and ordered that they either be removed or replaced with better ones.

Meanwhile, firms contracted to put up the monuments were ordered to remove them ahead of President Ruto’s event of handing over the city charter to Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii.

A section of residents said they had been disappointed by the work done on the statues that had been erected at several  roundabouts in the town’s CBD.

One of the monuments was that of a female athlete, whose identity could not be easily identified yet the city is associated with several record-breaking athletes.

Pictures of the monuments circulated on social media on Wednesday night, sparking a backlash against the county administration and the Eldoret Municipal Board.