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Sports Principal Secretary Joe Okudo is among seven senior officials from the Ministry of Sports expected to record statements this morning at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over the Oregon athletics saga.

Okudo and the six other officials are scheduled to appear before the Economics and Commercial Crimes Unit (ECCU) over the alleged joyriders who accompanied Team Kenya to the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, US in June.

Procurement heads

Investigators are keen to establish whether Okudo may have been one of the senior officials at the Ministry whose family members may have benefitted from the trip.

Head of ECCU Mike Muia, three of Okudo’s kins have been confirmed to have accompanied the team to the US, which the detectives want to establish whether they sponsored themselves or their expenses were catered for by the taxpayer.Also expected to be grilled alongside Okudo are the heads of Procurement, Accounts and the officer who was responsible for coordination of the World Athletes Championships at the ministry.

Okudo is scheduled to appear for grilling even as sources at DCI intimated to People Daily that investigations into the saga have cleared Athletics Kenya from any involvement as everything seems to point fingers at the Ministry of Sports.Senior officials from AK have already been grilled and made to record statement with the DCI now intending to make them state witnesses in the case.

Muia summoned the seven officers through a letter dated August 15, 2022 in which he also warned them that failing to honour the summons would compel him into seeking for a warrant of arrest.

Yesterday, Muia told People Daily that more officials from the Ministry, Athletics Kenya (AK), National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) and Sports Kenya are lined up for questioning and recording of statements.“The case is progressing well and we are at the stage of recording statements after identifying the people we believe were actively involved in the saga. So far, we have got all the travel and payment documents in our possession,” Muia said.

Muia said the seven are the first batch of senior officials scheduled to be grilled over their role in the recently concluded World Athletes Championships in Oregon, US.

The officials lined up for grilling are believed to have facilitated some joyriders to travel to the athletics fete at the expense of several deserving athletes who missed out.

The DCI is now in possession of the full list of individuals who travelled after procuring US visas as well as those who applied but did not get the documents.

Investigators are said to have already established all the persons in the entourage to Oregon were fully catered for by the government and are now seeking to establish the reasons behind the payments made and the roles each played.

Some Ministry, AK, Sports Kenya and NOCK officials are said to have been accompanied by their relatives.

Initial reports

Though initial reports had indicated that around 32 officials from the Ministry, Sports Kenya and Athletics Kenya travelled to Oregon as joyriders, the number is said to have been more. The Ministry alone is said to have produced at least 15 persons.

Sources said most of the persons included in the trip had nothing to do with the athletics competition.

Muia told the People Daily that one of the seven summoned officials was accompanied to the games by his wife and two daughters while another senior official yet to be directed to appear was accompanied by his wife.

Other team members were also left behind after failing to get travel documents.DCI George Kinoti had promised to expedite investigations to ensure that all those culpable face the law.