Ekumbo, the first vice-chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) and a member of the International Swimming Federation's (FINA) ruling Bureau, allegedly stole $10,500 (£8,400/€10,000).

The Kenyan official was detained for three days ago pending charges after police investigators allegedly recovered boxes containing athletics shoes, tracksuits and bags supplied as part Kenya's sponsorship deal with clothing giants Nike.

According to reports, he was found hiding under his bed when the police arrived.

Ekumbo has, however, vowed to return the money he stole and claims it was deposited into his back account without him knowing.

He will remain in police custody until Monday (November 28) before his bail application is considered.

"Evidence gathered so far is cogent and sufficient to secure a conviction, hence the temptation for the accused person to abscond if released on bail," the prosecution team told Kenyan newspaper The Star.

Ekumbo was the fifth official in Kenya to be arrested as part of the investigation.

Others to have been detained include Chef de Mission Stephen Soi, team manager Pius Ochieng, NOCK secretary-general Francis Paul and treasurer Fridah Shiroya.

Charges against Shiroya have since been dropped and it is expected she will now testify against her colleagues.

NOCK chairman Kipchoge Keino, a double Olympic gold medallist, is the organisation's only senior official not to have been arrested.

The news of Ekumbo’s charge follows a meeting of the NOCK, which reportedly descended into chaos as Member Federations rebelled against the leadership and questioned why the members of the Executive Committee had not resigned in the wake of the ongoing scandal.

Several athletes also demonstrated against the NOCK officials, holding placards to show their opposition to the way the debacle had been dealt with.

Keino was forced to end the meeting prematurely, declaring after the gathering that the NOCK "would be sanctioned" by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The NOCK has been given a deadline of the end of the year by the IOC to hold fresh elections and resolve its problems but he is fearful they will not meet the December 31 date.

Keino admitted they were "running out of time" after a number of changes proposed during the meeting, aimed at addressing the needs of the IOC, were deemed unacceptable by the country’s Federations.

One official, Kenya Table Tennis Association chairman Andrew Mudibo, even claimed the punishment from the IOC would be a positive thing as it would mean they would have to start afresh.

The presence of Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) President Lassana Palenfo also riled the attendees after the Ivorian refused to speak to officials, stressing he was only there to meet with Keino and Sports Minister Hassan Wario.

Wario decided in August, following Rio 2016, to dissolve the national governing body.

"In civilised democracies, those implicated would have resigned by now pending investigations," John Kameta, the head of the Boxing Association of Kenya, said.

In response, Palenfo stressed they were "innocent until proven guilty" and said only the IOC were able to sanction the officials at the centre of the row.

Officials were accused of key accommodation and travel mishaps, including the "mishandling of accreditation", as well as kits which allegedly never reached athletes.

According to Reuters, a report by the Rio 2016 Probe Committee has found that more than KES870 million (£7 million/$8.4 million/€7.9 million) set aside for Kenyan air tickets for the Games was misappropriated.

Kit said to be worth KES126 million (£988,000/$1.2 million/€1.1 million) per year since 2013 was also diverted, it is alleged, out of money designed for athletes.