EACC Backing Up Sports CS Amina Mohammed In the Sports Fund Scandal?

Following last article published on this site, Pressure is mounting on Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to instigate investigations over reported runaway corruption said to have rocked the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund whereby Amina had earlier admitted that the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund had collected a whopping Sh30.3 billion since it was operationalised in February 2019 of which can’t be accounted for.

The National Sports Fund was established through the enactment of the Sports Act Section 12 of part 111. The fund is under Amina’s ministry of sports, culture and the arts and its main goal is to raise funds to facilitate growth and development of the sports industry in the country.

In addition, the funds are to be used in the necessary sports personnel and support the cash award scheme for the purpose of enhancing competitiveness among the country’s men and women.

Fresh details have emerged how cartels in charge of the fund looted millions of shillings through kickbacks from Sasdef Plaza tenders and other shoddy deals.

The cartels also hijacked the tender  process for supply of various goods, works and services for the financial years 2020-2022.

Consequently, Amina and PS Joe N Okudo were summoned to shed light on how billions of shillings channeled to the docket have been spent, as a matter of clearing their names of the raging corruption woes in the unit, created to facilitate growth and development of the sports industry in the country.

An insider commented that Amina boasts of deep state connection and does not lose any sleep over revelations that scandals under her watch have been brought to the attention of the EACC for possible prosecution.

Those at the Sports Fund and the ministry say the CS has good relationship with EACC CEO Twalib Barak and hence it’s business as usual. To corroborate fears of being linked to more graft scandals, it appears the EACC has opted to go slow on the matter despite the fact that letters have been written to the effect.

There was drama when a scheduled consultative meeting between the national assembly committee on sports and the two officers in charge of the sports docket was deferred after they failed to show up at the eleventh hour.

They feared, after getting wind of a plan by the committee members to put them into a rigorous grilling season over the rampant looting of the National Sports Fund. Whereas Amina was strategically out of the country on the material day, PS Okudo tabled excuses that he was sick, and therefore, was not in the right position to appear before the MPs.

The two, and other cartels mentioned in the looting, are not off the hook based on the fact that the irate MPs vowed to issue fresh and authoritative summons that would compel Amina and Okudo to appear before the house team and offer explanation surrounding the allegations.

Luanda MP Chris Omulele had earlier demanded on the floor of the house an explanation on the status of utilisation of sports funds and even questioned the rationale of planting someone with questionable academic background to be the CEO of such a vital docket.

In 2018, Uhuru Kenyatta appointed former vice president Moody Awori as one of the board members of the now troubled Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.

Aside from the former VP, the board comprises five principal secretaries from the ministries of Education, Arts, Health, National Treasury and Sports as well as Athletics Kenya boss Jackson Tuwei.

It has emerged that the brazen cartels under protection of powerful advantage of Awori’s nature and his advanced age to execute their dirty deals.

For now, Football Kenya Caretaker Committee is also being used by the cartel to loot millions of shillings from the fund while it lasts- following sanctions by FIFA.