Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka….Photo/File

BUNGOMA, Kenya (IP)

 A smart city — wired, walkable and humming with digital life — is what Bungoma County is betting on as it redraws the future of land once reserved for aircraft and silence.

Governor Kenneth Lusaka says the former Bungoma Airstrip, long defunct and now fenced, is not a symbol of land grabbing but the foundation of an ambitious urban dream.

Lusaka on Sunday dismissed claims that the land had been irregularly acquired, saying it was lawfully degazetted by the Kenya Airports Authority to make way for the planned Smart City.

Speaking while fellowshipping at Lugulu Friends Church, the governor described the controversy surrounding the fencing as “misleading propaganda” by critics intent on slowing development.

“The Bungoma Airstrip land was duly degazetted by the Kenya Airports Authority. It has not been grabbed, and no individual stands to benefit personally from this project,” Lusaka said.

What is envisioned, county officials say, is not just another housing estate but a digitally enabled city designed for the future — a place where technology quietly shapes everyday life.

In Lusaka’s telling, the smart city will rise like a carefully written algorithm: streets fitted with intelligent traffic systems, public lighting powered by renewable energy and monitored remotely, and high-speed internet woven into homes, schools and offices. Public services would be digitized, allowing residents to access permits, pay bills and report faults at the tap of a screen.

Urban planners describe smart cities as ecosystems built on data — using sensors to manage waste collection, water use and energy consumption more efficiently.

In Bungoma’s case, the plan includes mixed-use developments, affordable housing, green spaces, innovation hubs and business parks meant to attract investors and young entrepreneurs.

Jobs, Lusaka said, will come not only from construction but from the digital economy that follows — software services, logistics, creative industries and small enterprises feeding off improved infrastructure.

“The fencing works currently underway are part of preparatory measures for the planned Smart City, which is expected to spur urban development, create jobs and stimulate economic growth in Bungoma County,” the governor said.

To critics worried that Bungoma is trading aviation for ambition, Lusaka offered reassurance. Air transport, he said, remains on the county’s radar.

The Matulo Airstrip is being expanded to support commercial operations and ensure Bungoma stays connected to the rest of the country.

In the fantasy of the plan, the old runway becomes a boulevard, the control tower replaced by glass offices and co-working spaces, and the silence of grounded planes traded for the low hum of servers, traffic and commerce.

It is a future where farmers check market prices on public Wi-Fi, students code in innovation labs and businesses operate in real time with Nairobi and the region.

“This is a year of service,” Lusaka said. “We are determined to deliver development that improves the livelihoods of our people and secures Bungoma’s future.”

Whether the smart city becomes a lived reality or remains an artist’s impression will depend on execution and trust. For now, Bungoma’s abandoned airstrip has been recast — not as lost land, but as a runway for a different kind of takeoff.