The report recommends strict action to be taken against officials of NOCK and those in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts (Mosca) who are accused of the misappropriation of over Ksh 88 million meant for Team Kenya for Rio 2016.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 27 – Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and Arts Hassan Wario is expected to hand over the report on the 2016 Rio Olympic Games probe to President Uhuru Kenyatta this week.
The report contains findings and recommendations on officials who were found culpable for mismanaging Team Kenya during the Rio Olympic Games where money was embezzled.
The report recommends strict action to be taken against officials of NOCK and those in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts (Mosca) who are accused of the misappropriation of over Ksh 88 million meant for Team Kenya for Rio 2016.
Additionally, Nock officials are also being called to account for the Ksh 126 million they receive annually from American sports apparel manufacturer, Nike after the firm submitted to the Committee headed by its chairman, Paul Ochieng, full disclosure in writing of their contract with the national Olympics body.
The astonishing report unravels what appears to have been an elaborate scheme between crooked Nock and officials in the ministry to loot as much as possible from the Ksh 590 million budgeted for the Games.
Team Kenya Head of Mission, Stephen arap Soi has already been charged with five counts of theft of Ksh25, 907,705.82 meant for the Olympics but that is now emerging to be less than a third of the figure said to have been misappropriated by officials at the ministry according to the report.
Fellow Nock bosses; Francis Kinyili Paul (Secretary General) and Pius Ochieng (First Vice-Chairman) like Soi are also out on bail on charges of stealing kit from Nike but the sponsorship money and winning bonuses for athletes paid out for medalling at the Olympics are not among the charges.
It also recommends the Sports Act of 2013 to be fully implemented to realise the full potential of sports federations and parastatals, creation of the office of a Sports Ombudusman as well as establishing partnership with a Japanese city with Team Kenya to launch early preparations for Tokyo 2020.
Another report by the Parliamentary Select Committee for Labour and Social Services chaired by Matuga Member of Parliament, is yet to release its report to the same scandal having summoned Nock and ministry bureaucrats led by Wario.
In the meantime, a team from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has continued investigations into the matter with a view to bringing to justice people who are responsible for any wrongdoing.
National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) 1st vice-chairman Ben Ekumbo is the latest official to be arrested over the Rio fiasco and is currently detained at Muthaiga Police Station waiting to return to Court on Monday.
He was charged with two counts of theft but pleaded not guilty to the charges of stealing Sh1m and kits belonging to Team Kenya.
Despite the challenges faced by the Kenyan athletes from the camp in Eldoret, to travel arrangements and mistreatment in Brazil, the Kenyan team put up a spirited performance to finish 20th in the world by collecting a total of 13 medals, six gold, six silver and a single bronze medal.
