Kenya's resolve to fight doping scourge is resolute

For some time now, there has been concern about doping in international athletics. A Wada independent commission was created to investigate and came up with two reports.

The second report was published on Thursday.

The report covers wide-scale doping across global athletics. It may carry implications for Kenyan athletics and the integrity of our system. We will study its findings and observations in detail. Where claims of illegal activity are made, we will investigate; anyone shown to have contravened national or international sporting rules can expect to face the legal consequences.

What we can say now is that the Jubilee government was already committed to transforming the governance and management of our athletics organisation, so that the talents of our young people could find their full expression. We remain committed to that goal, and the report only strengthens our resolve to reach it.

Our athletes are our ambassadors. Over the years, their talent and training have brought them success, and earned our country an international reputation. The most recent edition of the IAAF World Championships, when Kenya brought home more medals than anyone else, was a particular high point. To protect our reputation, and to honour the talent and success of our athletes, we must ensure that every athlete who represents this proud nation competes fairly and cleanly at all times.

That is why this Government never has and never will tolerate doping of any sort in Kenyan sport, or anywhere else. Apart from anything else, it costs our athletes: as Lorna Kiplagat recently said, she could not avoid feeling that her talent had been wasted when she saw fellow competitors suspended on suspicions of drug use. And it damages credibility too; other nations might argue that Kenyan winners are not clean. It is clear, then, that we must make absolutely certain that all sport in which Kenyans are involved is perfectly clean.

That is why we are putting an unprecedented amount of money into anti-doping work in Kenya. Last year, Government set up the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak), which has been granted an initial allocation of Sh500 million to ensure that it runs its operations independently, competently and effectively.

Equally, we have developed draft legislation that provides legal guidelines for dealing with doping in consultation with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada). It will enforce severe penalties for any violations. The legislation will go to parliament in the coming weeks.

A robust policy on the matter has also been developed. The policy document has been presented to Cabinet for review and approval. We are also receiving advice from anti-doping agencies in Norway and China, both of which have deep experience and expertise in tackling doping issues.

These are challenging times, but Kenya, and Kenya’s athletes, will overcome. This government will act quickly and carefully, to preserve the unique legacy of our nation’s finest.