Former Sports CS and Ambassador Hassan Wario on Friday denied charges of graft and abuse of office arising from the Sh55 million Rio Olympics scandal in 2016.
Wario, now the ambassador to Austria, was charged alongside former director of administration in the ministry, Haron Komen, and ex-finance officer Patrick Nkabu.
They are facing six counts of abuse of office and four others of willful failure to comply with the law relating to the management of public funds. They are accused of unlawfully authorising payment in excesses of Sh15,907,500 as allowances to members of the Kenyan team.
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They are also accused of embezzlement of Sh22.5 million, Sh16.8 million in underutilised air tickets, Sh15.9 million in overpaid allowances and Sh6.5 million expenditure on unauthorised persons.
Charges of abuse of office against Wario state that he conferred Sh1,506 391 to Adan Enow by including him in the team to travel to Brazil, an act that prosecution says resulted in the loss of the public funds.
They all denied the charges before chief magistrate Douglas Ongoti. They are out on Sh2 billion bond and alternative Sh1 million bail.
The suspects were to be charged alongside former National Olympics Committee of Kenya chairman Kipchoge Keino, but the DPP Noordin Haji has suspended his prosecution. He is expected to be a state witness.
Lawyer Cecil Miller wrote to Haji on Wednesday, seeking postponement of Keino’s plea taking.
Haji had approved charges of abuse of office and willful failure to comply with public funds management laws against Keino and ex-Nock secretary general Francis “FK Paul” Kanyili. They are accused of irregularly including their sons Ian Kipkosgei and Vincent Kanyili, respectively, in the team and improperly conferring benefits of $24,960 to them, which resulted in the loss of public funds through payments of air tickets and allowances.
But Miller said as the chairman of Nock, Keino was not involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation.
“My client did not give authorisation for inclusion of the alleged persons in the Rio 2016 Olympic games Kenyan delegation team,” Miller letter to Haji reads.
State counsel Emily Kamau said DPP Haji had sought more time to allow the DCI to conclude fresh investigations.The DPP’s decision for fresh investigations followed interventions by Miller, who wrote to him on Wednesday.
Haji directed the DCI to give Keino an opportunity to record further statements and give additional documents in his possession.
The DCI will thereafter send the file to the DPP for review before a determination on whether to charge the athletics legend.
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