Rio Olympics Scandal: Former Sports CS Hassan Wario Convicted of Corruption and Abuse of Office

Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario has been found guilty of corruption and abuse of office over the 2016 Rio Olympic Games scam.

Wario was found guilty of willfully failing to comply with applicable procedures relating to the management of public funds alongside his co-accused Stephen Soi, a former National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) official.

Anti-corruption court Magistrate Elizabeth Juma while reading the judgment on Wednesday said Wario took advantage of his office and added three more persons to the Team Kenya list and had them paid allowances.

“The additional names were included after they closed the accreditation.  Clearly, this was an indicator that the three were not part of the team Kenya,” ruled the magistrate.

The magistrate further noted that Wario did not have the mandate to allow the three—Monica Sairo, Richard Abura, and Edan Adow—to travel to Rio, Brazil for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Four other accused persons including former Sports Principal Secretary Richard Ekai, Haron Komen, Francis Kinyili, and Patrick Kimathi Nkabu were acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence.

Wario and Soi will be remanded at Gigiri police station awaiting their sentencing on Thursday.