State House denies Nock paid Ksh2.1m for presidents accommodation

State House has refuted claims by the National Olympic Committee-Kenya (Nock) that it paid KSh 2.1 million for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s accommodation aboard a cruise ship in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

State House Spokesperson, Manoah Esipisu, in a statement clarified that all foreign travels for the President are only arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that at no time does the ministry delegate that function to any other government department or agency.

Esipisu’s statement and the fact that the President had announced that he would not be travelling to Brazil prior to the Olympic Games now escalate questions as to why Nock would shell out Sh61, 274.18 booking fees a day, as Kenya’s chef-de-mission told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.

“It is curious as to why an agency not authorized to arrange his (the President) travel would purport to take on that role,” part of the statement read.

Soi, who was making a public appearance for the first time since his arrest, told the Labor Committee of the National Assembly that they paid for three rooms in the cruise ship – one of which was also meant for Deputy President, William Ruto.

Justifying the move, Nock Chairman, Dr Kipchoge Keino, stated that the arrangements were made well in advance to secure rooms and that the International Olympics Committee (IOC) had made booking reservations in the cruise ship for Presidents.

The Nock officials are expected back before the Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday afternoon where they will answer questions on all matters that arose including kits, accommodation and accreditation after the committee scrutinized the documents presented before it on Tuesday.