Scale up fight on doping

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), World athletics, Athletics Kenya and Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak) have made great strides in trying to combat the rising cases of doping in the country.

This has been through robust grassroot sensitisation and enhanced testing programmes since the 2016 Anti-Doping Laws were enacted, and in 2019 when the country was put in Category “A” of countries where doping is prevalent.

The war against doping was scaled up when the government moved to allocate Sh670 million annually to Athletics Integrity (AIU) and Adak activities in 2023, a move that rescued Kenya from a possible ban from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. However, despite all these efforts, top Kenyan elite athletes continue to fall prey to the scourge.

Decorated women’s Olympic and world marathon champion, Peres Jepchirchir, has become the latest casualty. Jepchirchir was provisionally suspended on Friday for testing positive for the banned Erythropoietin (Epo), which has shocked the world. This comes months after marathon world record holder, Ruth Chepng’etich, was banned for three years for doping.

At least 300 Kenyan athletes have been banned since 2016 by either Adak or AIU for varying doping offences. While the process has mainly targeted athletes, the perpetrators behind the supply and administration of the banned substances have remained at large. That conspiracy of silence makes things difficult.

With the 2016 Anti-Doping Laws under review, Parliament should consider imposing harsher punishments on drug cheats, as a ban alone does not appear to be sufficient. It behoves natural justice when convicted dopers are allowed to keep millions and records that are proceeds from doping cases.

Let us hope that the setting up of the Global Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Network in Kenya, after Wada’s top brass meeting with the government early this month, will help clamp down on the major suppliers of the Performance Enhancing Drugs.

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