A top former Kenyan sports official was charged in court on Tuesday with abuse of office over graft allegations connected to the country's failed bid to host the African Nations Championship in 2018.
The East African country has long been plagued by corruption, and its football teams have suffered from years of financial mismanagement and graft.
Kenya was stripped of hosting the 2018 Chan by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) after an inspection revealed only one of four stadiums was ready.
On Tuesday, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said it had "approved graft-related charges" against Peter Kaberia "in connection with the alleged misappropriation of Ksh.330 million allocated for Kenya's preparations to host the 2018 African Nations Championship".
In a short statement, it said the charges include abuse of office, unlawful acquisition of public property, and financial misconduct.
Appearing in a Nairobi court, Kaberia, who was the effective No 2 in the Ministry of Sport between 2016 and 2018, denied the charges and was released on bail.
ALLEGED EMBEZZLEMENT
Nine other men, including ministry officials and businessmen, were also charged, according to the ODDP statement.
It follows a police investigation into the alleged embezzlement of roughly $1.7 million allocated for Chan.
Kenya's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) alleges Kaberia was involved in awarding a contract to a company to install stadium security, communications, and lighting in the stadiums.
"EACC investigations established that an advance payment of approximately 330 million shillings was made to the company under a contract that was not procured appropriately," the anti-corruption agency said in a statement to court.
In the end, Morocco was awarded the 2018 Chan competition and went on to win the championship.
Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania later co-hosted Chan in 2025, with the competition staged in four cities across the countries.
The three nations will next co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.