A massive scandal is brewing at Sports Kenya after Members of Parliament uncovered evidence suggesting that billions of shillings meant for sports development may have been looted.
The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture (PIC-SSAA) now plans to summon Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya and Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya to explain the alleged misappropriation of public funds in stadium projects and international sporting events.
Misappropriation of Millions at Sports Kenya
Lawmakers are investigating how Sports Kenya, the government agency mandated to manage sports facilities, allegedly misused billions of shillings through inflated contracts, ghost projects, and missing financial records. The MPs, led by Saboti MP Caleb Amisi, say the institution’s leadership engaged in systematic mismanagement of taxpayers’ money and are now calling for top-level accountability.
During a tense session on Tuesday, November 4, the committee grilled Sports Kenya CEO Gabriel Komora over rising construction costs and vanished project funds. The legislators warned that their findings could lead to prosecution for officials implicated in the scandal.
Amisi described the revelations as a blatant abuse of public trust, stating, “We are witnessing deliberate financial mismanagement. Taxpayers’ money cannot just disappear without accountability.”
Stadium Projects Under Scrutiny
The committee exposed massive cost inflations across regional stadium projects. At Kinoru Stadium, for instance, the cost rose from Ksh109 million to Ksh355 million—leaving a staggering Ksh246 million unaccounted for.
Other regional facilities displayed similar discrepancies. Seven county stadiums budgeted at Ksh2.8 billion were later recorded as eight projects costing Ksh2.9 billion. The MPs questioned how an extra stadium appeared in government records and why spending continued to rise despite earlier warnings from the Auditor General.
Komora attempted to defend his agency, claiming that original project documents had been surrendered to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and were never returned. However, MPs dismissed this explanation, arguing that EACC is legally bound to return certified records once investigations are concluded.
Lawmakers also highlighted how millions were wasted on abandoned ventures. For instance, Ksh30 million was paid to consultants for developing Public-Private Partnership models for stadiums that the government later abandoned. MPs condemned this as a case of public resources being drained through fictitious feasibility studies.
Questionable Payments and Missing Refunds
The investigation further exposed irregular payments tied to the 2017 World U18 Athletics Championships. Sports Kenya reportedly spent Ksh382 million to host the event, but the Ministry of Sports refunded only Ksh274.8 million—leaving an unexplained deficit of Ksh47.39 million.
In addition, interest certificates worth Ksh73 million were left unpaid, and a remittance of Ksh48 million by Sports Kenya to Athletics Kenya lacked supporting documentation. The MPs rejected attempts to shift blame to the Local Organizing Committee, warning that individuals responsible would face criminal accountability.
The committee expressed outrage that Sports Kenya could not produce complete payment records. They demanded that the EACC and Auditor General expedite audits on all transactions linked to the event. Amisi said Parliament would ensure every shilling spent by Sports Kenya is accounted for.
Summons to Cabinet Secretaries and Next Steps
The committee’s next move will be to summon Defence CS Soipan Tuya, Sports CS Salim Mvurya, and former senior officials at Sports Kenya to shed light on how billions meant for sports development were handled. The MPs believe the two ministries played central roles in authorizing or overseeing the expenditure of the funds under investigation.
In addition, the committee plans to question officials from the EACC who were handed the financial documents to explain why no progress report has been submitted to Parliament despite ongoing investigations. Lawmakers warned that any collusion between investigators and corrupt officials would attract legal consequences.
Amisi said the committee would recommend suspension of ongoing payments for all stadium projects until every discrepancy is cleared. He also hinted at a possible forensic audit to trace the missing funds and identify all individuals who benefited from the illegal transactions.
“We will not allow Sports Kenya to continue operating like a private company. This money belongs to the public, and we must recover it,” he said.
The probe into the misappropriation of millions at Sports Kenya has widened, with MPs insisting that accountability must begin at the top. They vowed to ensure that those who looted public resources under the pretense of promoting sports face justice.
Kenyans are now watching closely as Parliament pushes for answers in one of the most explosive corruption scandals in recent years—one that could reshape accountability in Kenya’s sports sector.
