How concerted effort spared Kenya athletics ban
Kenya’s firm stand against doping, and concerted efforts to firmly deal with the vice has spared Kenya an imminent ban from World Athletics.
Kenya’s efforts have drawn praise from World Athletics President Sebastian Coe who said that the multi-pronged approach by the government will be the key to winning the war against doping.
Speaking in Nairobi on Thursday, Coe said that the involvement of government departments like the medical, immigration, judiciary, Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Athletics Kenya and Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) will be key in the successful fight against the vice.
“The fact that all the agencies and public working together were not prepared to cover up and not face the challenge for me is the big difference between Kenya and Russia,” said Coe.
Coe explained that the meeting with President William Ruto and Cabinet Secretary for Sports Ababu Namwamba gave him enough time to understand the commitment across government departments after the multi-agency summit convened by Namwamba that took place in December days after Kenya escaped an imminent ban by World Athletics Council.
“This (multi-pronged approach) confirmed to me how Kenya looks at this in a holistic and structured way because this is a complicated landscape,” said Coe, who warned that there will be no quick and easy solutions or scapegoat in the war on doping.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (second left) shares a moment with President William Ruto (centre) when he was hosted at State House, Nairobi, on January 5, 2023. With them are Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba (second right), Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei (right), and Sports Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke.
Coe revealed that in the days leading to, and after the World Athletics Council meeting on November 30 last year in Rome, he was compelled to explain to the world why their approach to Kenya was different from that employed on Russia.
Coe said federations wanted to know about the situation in Kenya after both local and international media reported on the escalating positive cases in the country.
“Let me make it clear, these are two very different cases. There was a major cover up of cases in Russia where the government sponsored the doping systems unlike in Kenya where the case is different involving the athletes themselves,” said Coe, adding that what Kenya has demonstrated is the desire to deal with the problem, and not sweep it under the carpet.
Coe said working to resolve the high number of positive tests on road running will hopefully set the stage to move Kenya out of Category “A.”
At the same time, Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) will expose doping cheats immediately after the local body adopted some of the Athletics Integrity Unit’s (AIU) codes. BY DAILY NATION
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