Former Sports Principal Secretary and Ambassador Peter Kirimi Kaberia has denied charges of abuse of office and financial misconduct over the alleged loss of Sh330.5 million meant for Kenya’s preparations to host the 2018 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN).
Kaberia was among six accused persons who appeared before Milimani Anti-Corruption Court Magistrate Isabella Barasa on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Those who appeared in court were Kaberia, former Senior Principal Finance Officer Stephen Njoroge Muthuma, former Principal Accountant Enock Ondwari Onditi, former Senior Superintendent Engineer at Sports Kenya John Kiende Ruga, company director Anthony Mwangi Kimanthi and Samuel Mbaa Njoroge.
The former PS is accused of using his office to improperly confer a benefit of USD3,154,322.40, equivalent to about Sh330.5 million, on Auditel Kenya Limited as an advance payment for a tender to design, supply, test, commission and supervise security, access control, communication, audio-visual and pitch-lighting systems for stadiums selected to host CHAN 2018.
The charge sheet further accuses Kaberia of wilfully failing to comply with procurement laws and of incurring wasteful expenditure by signing a contract with Auditel Kenya without undertaking the required procurement process. He is also charged alongside other former government officials and companies over the alleged handling of the funds. The accused persons asked the court to release them on bond, with their lawyers arguing that they were respectable citizens with families and had no reason to abscond.
Lawyer Ndegwa Njiru, in particular, told the court that the alleged main actor in the movement of the money was a foreigner who was not before the court. The charge sheet identifies the foreigner as Marcos Gonzalez Puente, a Spanish national and director of Auditel Kenya Limited. He is accused of acquiring the USD3.15 million, which the prosecution alleges constituted public property, after it was transferred to an Auditel Kenya account held at Bankinter S.A. in Spain.
Njiru further argued that, apart from “bits and pieces”, the accused persons had only seen the money referred to in the chargesheet. He described his clients as “victims of circumstances” while urging the court to consider favourable bond terms.
The defence also pointed to a related civil case filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission before the High Court, arguing that the accused persons were already participating in those proceedings and therefore had no reason to flee.
The prosecution did not oppose the release of the accused persons on reasonable bond or bail, but asked the court to impose conditions to ensure their attendance. The prosecution, however, sought seven days to have the accused persons who had not appeared in court brought before the magistrate.
Magistrate Barasa subsequently granted bond to those who had appeared and pleaded to the charges.
The court granted Peter Kaberia, Stephen Njoroge Muthuma, Enock Ondwari Onditi, John Kiende Ruga, Anthony Mwangi Kimathi and Leasepride Limited a Sh3 million bond or Sh1 million cash bail each, while Samuel Mbaa Njoroge, Taxwise Africa Consulting LLP and Liroma Assurance Services Limited were granted a Sh2 million bond or Sh600,000 cash bail each.
Meanwhile, summons were issued requiring the third, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th accused persons to appear in court and take plea. Gonzalez Puente is the sixth accused in the case.
The case will be mentioned on September 15, 2026.
