Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has raised alarm over irregular procurement deals worth Sh1.96 billion issued by Sports Kenya for the refurbishment of three stadiums Kericho Green Stadium, Bukhungu Stadium, and Masinde Muliro-Kanduyi Stadium.

In her latest audit report, Gathungu exposed glaring procurement anomalies and legal breaches in the awarding of contracts meant to upgrade sports infrastructure across Kericho, Kakamega, and Bungoma counties.

At Kericho Green Stadium, valued at Sh408 million, the audit found that the contractor had been engaged even before the procurement process officially began.

A letter and design documents from the firm dated July 19, 2023, weeks before the official contract signing on September 4 suggest prior arrangements had been made, undermining transparency.

The Bukhungu Stadium refurbishment, pegged as a potential CHAN 2024 venue, was equally problematic. Key agreements and memoranda were missing from procurement files, while a site visit in September 2024 revealed that Phase II was still incomplete. Despite this, Phase III had already been awarded contrary to standard project sequencing.

At Masinde Muliro-Kanduyi Stadium, which carries a Sh799.1 million contract, the report revealed that the agreement was signed on March 1, 2024 three days before the contractor formally accepted the award.

This premature signing violated procurement laws, particularly the 14-day cooling-off period meant to allow other bidders to contest the award.

Separately, the report cited a breach of mandate at the Moi International Sports Centre, where Sports Kenya signed a revenue-sharing agreement with the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA) for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) assembly facility.

The project was not approved and fell outside Sports Kenya’s legal scope, which is confined to promoting and protecting sports facilities under the Sports Act of 2013.

“In the circumstances, the management was in breach of the law,” the report reads.

The Auditor General’s findings have raised serious concerns about governance, transparency, and oversight in the management of public sports infrastructure projects, prompting calls for accountability from both Parliament and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).