Top officials from the Sports ministry were summoned yesterday to explain the expenditure of Sh1.057 billion on consultancies related to the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) stadiums. Additionally, Sh352 million was allocated for regional consultancy services. The ministry officials, including Sports Principal Secretary Peter Tum and representatives from Sports Kenya, the Sports Fund, and the Academy of Sports, are accused of engaging private consultants despite a directive from President William Ruto.
A high-profile source at State House indicated that the questioning of the officials began shortly after 2 PM. The scrutiny primarily focuses on members of the Sports Fund board, responsible for approving projects and payments. The board consists of Tum, Harry K. Kimtai (Health PS), Belio Kipsang (Education), Chris Kiptoo (National Treasury), and Jack Tuwei (Sports Fund chairman).
In addition to the consultancy fees, the ministry reportedly spent Sh700 million on construction work at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani and Sh167.35 million on the Kenya Sports Academy in Nairobi. For the 2023/2024 financial year, the ministry had allocated Sh1.533 billion for the construction of 30 stadiums across various constituencies in the country.
The extravagant spending on obscure consultants has raised significant concerns and sparked public outcry, with calls for accountability. “The consultancies were a skunk and flew in the face of a directive by President William Ruto. The officials have many questions to answer,” stated a source from the Sports ministry who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. “The PS and other key actors were summoned to explain why well-connected individuals received millions in consultancy services without any tangible outcomes. Heads might roll at the Sports ministry. The Sports Fund has become a gravy train.”
The officials will need to clarify when the consultancy services were advertised, provide evaluation reports, award letters for successful bidders, contract specifications, the source of funding, and the identities of the consultants. There are also concerns about potential links between the consultancy firms and ministry officials, particularly PS Tum, Sports Kenya CEO Pius Metto, and Sports Fund CEO Nuh Ibrahim. Sources also revealed ongoing tensions regarding plans to merge Sports Kenya and the Kenya Academy of Sports under Metto’s management. The ministry officials reportedly ignored a presidential directive against hiring private consultants for Afcon 2027.
It has been reported that senior ministry officials exploited the gap left by President Ruto’s decision on July 1 to dismiss all Cabinet secretaries, leading to questionable deals that jeopardize Kenya’s efforts to co-host the continent’s premier football tournament.
Prior to the dissolution of the Cabinet, former Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba issued a letter dated June 26, 2024, directing all departmental heads in the ministry and semi-autonomous government agencies under his jurisdiction to “immediately terminate the services of consultants for Afcon.” The letter, titled “Cancellation of All Consultant Contracts and Standardisation of Infrastructure Project Costs,” highlighted that the government was “losing millions of shillings through the uncoordinated scheme.”
In response to the allegations, Tum mentioned that the ministry had engaged consultants from the University of Nairobi. However, he assured a parliamentary committee that the ministry was actively reviewing the consultants’ contracts to evaluate their worth. “The ministry has terminated the contracts of some of the consulting firms in the new arrangements,” he stated.
