Vivian Gungaram has been appointed a member of the IAAF Council on an interim basis ©MAA

Vivian Gungaram, President of the Mauritius Athletics Association (MAA), has been appointed as an interim member of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruling Council, it has been revealed.

He will replace Kenya's David Okeyo, who is currently suspended. 

He was referred to the IAAF Ethics Commission in November 2015 after being investigated by police in Kenya.

Okeyo, vice-president of Athletics Kenya, is alleged to have siphoned off funds from a sponsorship deal between the national governing body and American sportswear firm Nike.

He was suspended by the IAAF shortly after voting for Russia to be banned from international athletics following allegations of state-supported doping. 

Okeyo has denied any wrongdoing and said the contract was "executed with integrity".

He added there was no "embezzlement" and funds were "fully accounted for".

Athletics Kenya treasurer Joseph Kinyua is also being investigated as part of the allegations.

Vivian Gungaram, President of the Mauritius Athletics Association, will replace Kenya's David Okeyo, above, on a temporary basis after he was suspended for alleged corruption nearly two years ago ©Getty Images
Vivian Gungaram, President of the Mauritius Athletics Association, will replace Kenya's David Okeyo, above, on a temporary basis after he was suspended for alleged corruption nearly two years ago ©Getty Images

The decision to replace Okeyo was reached after a series of meetings between IAAF President Sebastian Coe and Hamad Malboum Kalkaba, his counterpart at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA).

The two discussed the situation at the CAA Congress in Rabat earlier this week.

Okeyo claimed that Coe had called him to tell him about the decision.

"The President [Coe] called me and I told him I have no problem [with the replacement],” Okeyo told The Daily Nation in Kenya. 

"The investigations have taken far too long and Africa should not suffer that’s why I have no problem with the decision to replace me on a temporary basis.

"I would have liked this case to end as soon as possible."

Another African member of the IAAF Council, Namibia's Frankie Fredericks, is also currently suspended following corruption allegations linked to Rio de Janeiro's successful bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The other members representing the continent on the IAAF Council are Kalkaba, a vice-president, who is from Cameroon, and Egypt's Ahmad Al Kamali and Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel. 

Gungaram is a former secretary general of Mauritian Olympic Committee, stepping down from the organisation in April this year after 29 years to devote more time to his role at the MAA.