A top Kenyan tourism official has been forced to resign after he was implicated in a 350,000 euros an equivalent to Kshs 35million corruption scandal facing the tourism sector. He is among senior bureaucrats who are under investigation for graft allegations, Kenya’s minister for Tourism Najib Balala said Thursday.

Dr Achieng Ong’ong’a, head of Kenya's Tourism Board, handed over his resignation letter to the Tourism minister paving way for further investigation. He is accused of irregular payments of up to 35 million and flauting the Public Procurement and Disposal Act while awarding contracts.
He is linked to a scheme of irregular pay offs to comapnies associated to him and other directors of the Tourism Board.

Dr Achieng who faces imprisonment if found guilty, is renowned for revamping the sector after years of recording a downward spiral in the sector. Dr Achieng was interdicted on December 1, last year, and forced to go on compulsary leave. The ministry’s National Audit Office and the Efficiency Monitoring Office is investigating the allegations.

The Kenya Anti-Corruption Agency is also likely to take up the matter after a formal complain is made to it.

Investigations are still ongoing, and the officials have not been charged.

President Kibaki has pledged to clamp down on the country's widespread corruption when he came into power in 2003, but critics said the recent cases are merely the tip of the iceberg and claim that many other guilty senior officers in government departments remain free as corruption costs the country millions of shillings in loses.

Preliminary investigations indicate that among the costs incurred by the KTB includes a one-day trip to the tourist resort to promote tourism by President Mwai Kibaki following post-election slump. The visit is said to have costed KShs20 million.

Another allegation surrounds the single sources of an out door advertisement company which was to carry out advertisement on behalf of KTB for which it had been paid Sh35 million for work that was never done.

Also on the line of fire is Maniago Safaris which is accused of double payments for services provided on behalf of KTB.

Tourism Minister, has warned that corruption in the public service has prevented developement in the tourism sector in the past and has vowed to protect the sector from corrupt officials.