Rio debacle haunts Hassan Wario as DPP okays his prosecution

President Uhuru Kenyatta will have to make a tough decision on whether to recall Kenya’s ambassador to Austria, Hassan Wario Arero, who is to be charged with corruption during his tenure as Cabinet secretary for Sports, Arts and Culture from 2013 to2018.

State House spokeswoman Kanze Dena Saturday said she has no idea what step the President is likely to take in regard to the former CS.

“I have no comment on that one because I also don’t know.”

Director of Public Prosecutions Nurdin Haji Saturday recommended Mr Wario’s prosecution for allegedly misappropriating funds meant for 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

OTHERS

Others to be charged with him include former Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Sports Richard Ekai as well as Kenya’s athletics legend Kipchoge Keino, who was the chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock).

Never before in Kenya’s history has a serving diplomat been charged with such serious crimes, which makes President Kenyatta’s next move most anticipated.

But ever since he came to office in 2013, it has been a tradition that all public officials mentioned in relation to graft have been forced to resign from his government.

REPLACED

Mr Wario is barely eight months in his posting in Vienna, Austria, after President Kenyatta replaced him with Mr Rashid Echesa when he re-constituted his Cabinet in January.

Mr Wario, 47, hails from the Borana community in Marsabit County.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from the University of Nairobi, and a master’s and PhD degrees, both from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.

Despite his stellar academic credentials, the affairs of his ministry seemed to overwhelm Mr Wario at times.

He largely failed to stamp his authority and under his watch, cartels — who have long frustrated the sports sector — thrived.

The Rio debacle — in which kits meant for athletes were hogged by a few officials, air tickets to Brazil grossly overpriced and strangers included in the Kenyan team — raised public outcry.

Mr Wario explained that he too was a victim of the cartels even though a committee formed by the government to investigate the Rio fiasco returned a harsh verdict on his leadership skills.

DISBANDED NOCK

He then disbanded Nock which he blamed for causing all the troubles the athletes faced in Brazil.

Prosecutors then charged two Nock officials, general team manager Pius Ochieng and secretary-general Francis Kanyiri.

Appearing before MPs, Nock officials revealed that Mr Wario paid for President Kenyatta’s accommodation on a cruise ship at a cost of Sh2.2 million.

But the President did not travel to Brazil.

But even as this was happening, MPs called on Mr Wario to take responsibility for the Rio mess and threatened to impeach him.

But nothing came out of these efforts until the DPP’s recommendation on Saturday to charge him.