A Kenyan court on Thursday sentenced a former sports minister Hassan Wario to six years in prison after finding him guilty over misappropriation of funds meant for athletes in the Brazil Olympics five years ago.
Kenya had its best Olympics showing in Rio, winning six gold medals, six silvers and one bronze in track and field, but the performance was blighted by claims of corruption among senior government officials and team leaders.
A magistrate’s court in Nairobi found Wario, who was the sports minister at the time, guilty of abuse of office in connection with the loss of funds.
Delivering a ruling in the case that started in 2018, the court gave Wario, who was appointed Kenya’s ambassador to Austria after serving in the cabinet, the option of paying a KSh3.6 million fine to avoid going to jail.
Stephen Soi, who was the team leader and was tried alongside Wario, was found guilty of corruption and was sentenced to 10 years in prison or a fine of KSh103 million.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government charged dozens of senior officials with various crimes in a crackdown against graft in 2018 and 2019.