Former Sports CS Hassan Wario sentenced to 6 years in jail over 2016 Rio Games scam

By , K24 Digital
On Thu, 16 Sep, 2021 14:22 | < 1 min read
Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario. PHOTO/COURTESY

Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario has been sentenced to six years or a Ksh3.6 million fine after he was convicted over Rio 2016 Olympics financial scandal.

However, a different sentence was declared for his co-convict who is former National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) official Stephen Soi.

Soi will serve 12 years or pay a fine of Ksh105.5 million after he was found guilty in five counts of corruption.

The two were on Wednesday found guilty of the offences of abuse of office and willful failure to comply with public procurement guidelines and laws.

The sentence was read out to them on Thursday noon by Chief Magistrate Eizabeth Juma, before they were escorted to prison under armed security from the warders.

"I have also taken into account that by the time Wario instructed some individuals to be included in Team Kenya, there was no negative publicity. It only emerged later when they won in Rio.  They managed to bring good performance but in the process, the government lost a good amount of money. This brought a bad image," ruled Juma.

The two are, however, allowed to appeal the sentence within 14 days.