NAIROBI, Kenya, September 8, 2026 – Following approval of charges by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) has announced the arrest of former Sports Principal Secretary Kirimi Kaberia and five other persons in connection with the misappropriation of Ksh 330 million that was meant to renovate stadia to host the Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) in 2018.
In a statement via its director Abdi Mohamud, those apprehended besides Kaberia include Stephen Njoroge Muthuma (senior principal finance officer, ministry of education), John Kiende Ruga (senior superintendent engineer, Sports Kenya), Samuel Mbaa Njoroge (tax advisor and partner, Taxwise Africa), Enock Ondwari Onditi (former principal accountant, State Department for Sports Development) and Anthony Mwangi Kimathi (former employee of Instalaciones Inabensa S.A.).
In their statement, the commission further detailed how the Ksh 330 million was siphoned out of the country through shadowy entities before being wired back to Kenya, undetected.
“The Commission further established that the funds were transferred through various entities in an effort to conceal their source and facilitate their movement back to Kenya. Following the conclusion of investigations, EACC forwarded the inquiry file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who approved the prosecution of public officials, company directors and other persons linked to the matter,” the statement read.
At the centre of the scandal is a Spanish company M/s Auditel Kenya, which was awarded a contract worth Ksh 1.5 billion, to suppy and install security, access control, communications, audio-visual and pitch lighting systems at various stadia ahead of the continental competition.
However, EACC details, the company never fulfilled its contractual obligations even as the contract awarded violated the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015.
“EACC investigations established that an advance payment of USD 3.15 million, approximately KES 330 million, was made to the company under a contract that was not procured in accordance with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015. The company subsequently failed to fulfil its contractual obligations, resulting in the loss of KES 330 million in public funds,” the commission revealed.
Other than the six arrested on Tuesday, EACC has also directed four other individuals to present themselves at Integrity Centre or the nearest EACC office for processing.
They include Harun Komen Chebet (former director of administration, State Department for Sports Development), Marcos Gonzalez Puente (director, Auditel Ingenieria Y Servicios) and Kitheka Muema (former audit committee member, Football Kenya Federation).
Other than jail time, EACC have also expressed an intention to institute civil proceedings to recover public funds and assets believed to have been acquired through proceeds of crime arising from the scandal.
“In addition to the criminal proceedings, the Commission has instituted civil proceedings seeking the recovery and forfeiture of public funds and assets alleged to have been acquired through proceeds of crime arising from the matter,” EACC said.
