An audit of Sports Kenya has revealed that the agency lacks proper land ownership documents for key national assets, including the Moi International Sports Centre, where the Kasarani Stadium is located.

The revelations were laid bare when the National Assembly's Public Investment Committee on Social Services (PIC-SSAA) grilled Sports Kenya officials over the audit queries on billions of shillings allegedly wasted on incomplete or abandoned projects, including failed stadium ventures.

According to the audit, Sports Kenya revealed that it is still pursuing the ownership documents for the over 200-acre land through the  National Land Commission.

The puzzled MPs were also shocked to learn that the government has spent millions of shillings on consultancy and the proposed construction of three national stadiums that were never initiated.

The most startling revelation concerned three proposed national stadiums in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Eldoret cities, at an estimated cost of Ksh42 billion. 

According to records presented to the lawmakers, the government paid Ksh99.6 million for a feasibility study and Ksh57 million for architectural and project management services without securing formal land ownership.

Despite millions already spent on consultancy and feasibility studies, none of the projects have ever broken ground. 

The committee, chaired by Vice-Chairperson Caleb Amisi (Saboti), questioned how the government spent the billions on consultancy for projects whose land titles were not even in existence. 

Appearing before the Committee, Sports Kenya’s Acting Director General, Gabriel Komora, and senior management faced tough questions on the audit queries dating back to the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years.

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The projects were allocated funds under the Vision 2030 and the Sports Act 2013, with the parliamentarians warning that i the projects continue to stall, they could turn into wasted investments leading to loss of taxpayers' money. 

Budgetary Inflation 

Meanwhile, the MPs also discovered that the government had inflated the construction of other stadiums, with the Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret, initially contracted at Ksh109.7 million, having soared to Ksh355.1 million, a rise of over 200 per cent.

On this, Sports Kenya management failed to provide a clear answer and was directed to produce documents for a new Ksh3.5 billion rehabilitation contract at the stadium.

Additionally, it emerged that there were also questionable expenditures within the department, including payment of Ksh24.4 million to a Moscow football club.