Why top Sports Ministry officials defied presidential directive on AFCON 2027 consultants

Corruption concerns have emerged within the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage following new revelations that senior officials may have overlooked a presidential directive, potentially affecting the country’s bid to co-host the 2027 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The situation has raised concerns within the Ministry, prompting questions about transparency, financial management and the overall readiness of the nation for the prestigious tournament.

Details published by now show that top brass within the Sports Ministry, including Principal Secretary Peter Tum, proceeded to hire private consultants despite an explicit order from President William Ruto to avoid such expenditures.

The directive came after it was revealed that some officials were using consultancy services as a conduit to siphon millions of shillings meant for AFCON preparations.

Concerns have been raised over misuse of public funds following revelations that the Ministry of Sports spent billions on consultancy services for the AFCON 2027 tournament.

President Ruto had ordered the cancellation of all private consultancy contracts on July 1, warning that the practice was escalating project costs unnecessarily.

In defiance of that directive, insiders claim that senior ministry officials quickly reinstated consultants under questionable terms, taking advantage of a political vacuum created by the President’s decision to dismiss all Cabinet Secretaries.

“At a meeting recently held at State House under the chairmanship of His Excellency President William Ruto, it was noted that project consultancies were among the conduits that escalate project costs. Consequently, all agencies under the Ministry are required to terminate all consultancy services on AFCON with immediate effect,” read a letter from former Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba dated June 26, 2024 as per

But barely days after the President dissolved the Cabinet, those very consultants were back on the job.

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This move, insiders say, allowed unscrupulous officials to cut deals that have now placed Kenya’s quest to co-host AFCON 2027 alongside Tanzania and Uganda on shaky ground.

In a recent Parliamentary session, PS Tum was grilled on how the ministry spent over KSh 1 billion on consultants, despite the President’s ban. Tum’s explanations left legislators shocked and bewildered.

In his testimony before the Parliamentary Sports and Culture Committee, Tum admitted that KSh 1 billion had been spent on stadium consultancy, with an additional KSh 352 million on regional consultancy services.

“Why would the ministry spend more than a billion paying hired consultants for projects such as Talanta Stadium and sports academies? Why can’t the ministry use the services of experts from the Public Works Department?” Yatta MP Basil Ngui demanded during the session.

Gor Mahia were among teams that lost out on almost Ksh100 million after their failure to qualify for the CAF Champions League group stage whose draw was conducted on Monday.

The scandal deepened as Tum revealed that KSh 1.5 billion was also spent on feasibility studies and surveys related to sports academies across Kenyan constituencies.

Although Tum assured MPs that the ministry was in the process of reviewing and terminating some consultancy contracts, his statements did little to calm concerns about the legitimacy of the spending.

“Some of the contracts have already been terminated,” Tum said, noting that consultants from the University of Nairobi were engaged for certain projects.

However, questions remain about why the Ministry resorted to hiring private firms when government institutions like the Kenya School of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) had offered to provide services free of charge.

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Even more perplexing is why the Ministry continued to hire private consultants when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had already provided a professional consultant for all three co-hosting countries — Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania — to handle similar services.

This raises suspicions about whether the consultancies were truly necessary or merely a facade for financial mismanagement.

The lack of transparency surrounding the procurement of these services has sparked calls for accountability.

Were these consultants competitively bid or single-sourced? What exact services were provided, and how was their work evaluated? These are questions that remain unanswered as the scandal continues to unravel.

Kenya’s co-hosting of AFCON 2027 once seen as a great opportunity to boost the nation’s footballing reputation now faces uncertainty as the cloud of corruption looms over the preparations.