Sports CS Wario grilled by police over Rio mess
BySports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario was on Wednesday morning interrogated at Directorate of Criminal Investigations as police launched investigations into the Rio Olympic Games fiasco.
Dr Wario presented himself at the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road at 8am and left a few minutes before noon.
Officers, who cannot be named because they are not supposed to comment on the matter, said CS was accompanied by some officials from his ministry.
UNVEIL TRUTH
Detectives are seeking to unveil the truth behind the mess that exposed Kenya to ridicule.
Wario, who accompanied Team Kenya to Brazil jetted back into the country on Saturday last week.
On Wednesday, moments after Mr Wario left the DCI headquarters, Sports Kenya chief finance officer Francis Githaiga was arrested by the Ethic and Anti–Corruption Commission officials over the management fiasco.
He was whisked away to the Integrity Centre around 1 pm and questioned for slightly over one hour. He also recorded a statement, although the details of the nature of the statement remained unknown.
Police are probing alleged misappropriation of funds meant for the team by part of the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (Nock) officials.
An official privy to the goings on at Integrity Centre, and who asked not to be named, intimated that Githaiga is expected to appear at the Milimani Law Courts Thursday morning.
Contacted by the Nation, a communications officer at Integrity Centre Yassin Amaro confirmed that indeed Githaiga recorded a statement but declined to reveal the nature of the statement, only saying that it was in connection to the Rio Olympics management mishaps.
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS
“These are preliminary investigations over administrative issues of the Kenyan team at the Olympics. There is nothing much to disclose at this moment,” he said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had directed that a thorough probe be launched to unravel what went amiss, warning that those found to have had a hand in the botched handling of team would face dire consequences.
The officials are accused of carrying joyriders on the trip at the expense of athletes and their trainers, amidst other scandals that put the country in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
Sources told the Nation that Githaiga and Wario were just part of the list of people scheduled for investigations.
The CS had earlier told the Sunday Nation that he was also been a victim of the scandal by Nock officials, whom he said are squarely to blame for the mismanagement of the team.
LIVING LARGE
During the interview, Wario said that the Nock officials were living large in Rio at the expense of the Kenyan team and coaches.
Controversy hit the Sports ministry even before the team left for Brazil, with some athletes, including javelin Olympic silver medallist Julius Yego and his coach, affected by a ticketing hitch.
Some of the 52 athletes have also complained that a section of the officials who accompanied them to the Games sold their kits donated by sportswear manufacturer Nike, which were meant for their training and competition in Rio.
Earlier, UK newspaper Sunday Times had aired an expose implicating the athletics team manager Major (Rtd) Michael Rotich in a doping bribery scandal.
As a result, he was sent back home and has since been charged. Sources at the DCI indicated that several other people were scheduled to be interrogated.
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