Donation Amount. Min £2

 

Kenya's former sports minister paid a fine of just over $32,000 on Thursday to avoid a six-year jail sentence after being convicted of corruption and abuse of office for misappropriating money set aside for the country's 2016 Olympic team.

Hassan Wario's sentence was to pay the fine or go to jail. He paid and was released from custody soon after Thursday's sentencing hearing, provoking uproar from some Kenyans on social media. They were angered that Wario was freed after being found guilty of corruption relating to the misuse of more than $800,000 that was meant to help Kenyan athletes' prepare for and perform at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

There were allegations that corruption in the buildup and during the Games was rife among other Kenyan government and sports officials, who were accused of stealing money from the $5.7 million Olympic budget and some of the $700,000 given to the track and field federation by sponsor Nike.

Stephen Soi, a co-accused in the trial who was the Kenyan team's chef de mission in Rio, was also convicted on the same charges and sentenced to 12 years in jail or a fine of about $950,000.

Wario and Soi were sentenced by anti-corruption judge Elizabeth Juma, who found them guilty on Wednesday. She ruled that Wario, who was sports minister from 2013-2018, used some of the team's budget to fly three people unconnected to the Olympics to Brazil and pay them allowances.

Juma ruled that Soi was the main offender with regard to misusing money. She said she took into account that both were first-time offenders and gave the two men 14 days to appeal.

Former Kenyan Olympic committee secretary general Francis Paul and three other sports ministry officials were acquitted.

Wario is the most senior government official to be convicted of corruption in relation to the Olympic scandal. He was Kenya’s ambassador to Austria when he was arrested and charged in 2018.

David Okeyo, the former vice president of Athletics Kenya and a council member at the world track body, was banned from the sport for life the same year for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars of the Nike money. - MUTWIRI MUTUOTA ASSOCIATED PRESS / The News Tribune

About IEA Media Ltd

Informer East Africa is a UK based diaspora Newspaper. It is a unique platform connecting East Africans at home and abroad through news dissemination. It is a forum to learn together, grow together and get entertained at the same time.

To advertise events or products, get in touch by info [at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447957636854.
If you have an issue or a story, get in touch with the editor through editor[at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447886544135.

We also accept donations from our supporters. Please click on "donate". Your donations will go along way in supporting the newspaper.

Get in touch

Our Offices

London, UK
+44 7886 544135
editor (@) informereastafrica.com
Slough, UK
+44 7957 636854
info (@) informereastafrica.com

Latest News

Industrialist Pankaj Oswal claims daughter illegally imprisoned in Uganda

Industrialist Pankaj...

Vasundhara Oswal has been in prison since October 1, the family claims. Pankaj Oswal claims his daug...

Rwanda: Torture, Ill-Treatment in Detention

Rwanda: Torture, Ill...

By Human Rights Watch An illustration of the “Yordani”, a torture site within Nyarugenge and Rubavu...

Uganda: Kiswahili Council Bill hits another hurdle over ownership

Uganda: Kiswahili Co...

The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi, observed that when the Bill was brought before Pa...

Ruto's adviser at the centre of controversial Adani-JKIA saga

Ruto's adviser...

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.[File, Standard] The government could have been quie...

For Advertisement

Big Reach

Informer East Africa is one platform for all people. It is a platform where you find so many professionals under one umbrella serving the African communities together.

Very Flexible

We exist to inform you, hear from you and connect you with what is happening around you. We do this professionally and timely as we endeavour to capture all that you should never miss. Informer East Africa is simply news for right now and the future.

Quality News

We only bring to you news that is verified, checked and follows strict journalistic guidelines and standards. We believe in 1. Objective coverage, 2. Impartiality and 3. Fair play.

Banner & Video Ads

A banner & video advertisement from our sponsors will show up every once in a while. It keeps us and our writers coffee replenished.