EACC recommends prosecution of FKF president in AFCON 2027 championship fund scandal
20:05:2024: It is only recently that Kenya, alongside its neighbour, Uganda won the bid to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). This is going to be Kenya’s first ever chance to host the Continent’s most prestigious soccer event, 68 years on since its inception in 1957.
That, however, runs the risk of not happening. The country’s soccer management institutions are mired in corruption scandals that have swindled some of the funds put forward to help with meeting part of the AFCON preconditions.
Based on the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the administrative and controlling body for association football’s requirements for instance, a country needs six stadiums to host the AFCON, two of which to be able to accommodate at least 40,000 spectators, another two that can hold at least 20,000, and the remaining two to be able to hold at least 15,000 fans.
However, the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts, the Federation of Kenya Football and Sports Kenya are already in the eyes of a storm in relation to embezzlement of Kes330.5 million out of the Kes1.5 billion put aside in 2018 for meeting this specific requirement of CAF. In particular, the money was set aside for the design, supply, testing, commissioning and supervision of security access control communications, audio visual and pitch lighting systems for five stadia in preparations for the championships.
Investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission established that the company, Auditel Kenya, that won the tender for the above services was awarded irregularly as it attached false documents to its bid.
Furthermore, Auditel Kenya, investigations further revealed, did not render any services in the five stadia as per the contract despite receiving Kes330, 537, 997. After receiving the said amount, financial investigations established, the Company paid Kes25, 682,893 to Restea Enterprises which in turn transferred the money to persons associated with FKF president, Leasepath Ltd, and Leasetrade Ltd.
The directors of the two private companies and the FKF president therefore knowingly engaged in arrangement to receive money from Auditel Kenya with intent to conceal the source of the said money. They knew that Auditel had obtained the funds without rendering any services.
EACC as such has recommended to the Director of Public Prosecutions to charge the then Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts, the Ministry’s then Finance Officer, Principal Accountant, Senior Superintendent Engineer, Director of Administration, and the Mechanical Engineer at Sports Kenya, and the FKF president. Others on the EACC radar are Auditel Kenya Ltd, Restea Ltd, Leasepride Ltd, and Leasepath Ltd and their directors.
EACC has recommended that the above be charged with six offences among them conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption, abuse of office, financial misconduct, willful failure to comply with the law relating to procurement, and money laundering. This is revealed in the Commission’s 1st Quarterly Report of 1st January to 31st March 2024, setting out the number of reports made to the DPP.
The Commission is under Sec.36 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003 required to prepare quarterly reports setting out the number of reports made to the DPP, indicating if its recommendation to prosecute was accepted or not. The law also requires the Commission to give a copy of the report to the Attorney General who lays a copy before the National Assembly.
On this particular inquiry file, the report indicates, the DPP has recommended further investigations. The report also shows that EACC has, in the first quarter, forwarded a total of 17 files to the DPP out of which 12 were with recommended for prosecution, two for administrative or other action and four for closure.
One file with recommendation for prosecution got the nod, two with recommendation for administrative action or other action got accepted, eight were returned for further investigations and one file with recommendation for prosecution was declined but given the nod for administrative action.
The file that the DPP concurred with EACC’s recommendation to prosecute is one whose investigations relate to allegations about a former Senior Analyst/Personal Assistant to the Chairperson of the Commission of Revenue Allocation (CRA)’s use of forged academic documents to secure employment. Investigations established that the employee used forged Master of Arts Certificate and Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) Degree Certificate to secure employment at CRA where she worked from August 2017 to July 2023 during which time she fraudulently earned a gross salary of Kes15,224,522.
