NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 29 – With the escalating doping scourge threatening to drag Kenya’s rich athletics prowess in the mud, new Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has vowed to make it ‘an expensive crime’ for anyone caught in the web of drug cheating.
Speaking as he officially took office on Friday afternoon, Namwamba says there are discussions around elevating banned substances to the level of hard drugs to ensure that anyone found guilty attracts the same punishment.
“Among the things we are going to do in terms of legislation is to elevate banned substances to the same caliber as hard drugs so that if you are caught, we will treat you as a trafficker in hard drugs, the same way someone who has been found with heroine or cocaine etc is treated,” Namwamba said.
Kenya has found itself in the glare of the world once again, with five athletes so far banned over various doping offences over the last one month. Six more are on provisional suspension.
Kenya has been in ‘Category A’ of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) watch list since 2016 when the cases of doping were on the rise and the latest positive results have increased the scrutiny on the country.
Over the past two weeks, Athletics Kenya has been on a countrywide tour of sensitization especially speaking to Under-20 athletes as they seek to stem the bud from a young age.
Namwamba has said he will work hand in hand with AK and the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) to stem the vice and has warned those found guilty that the law will not be kind on them.
“We have such a fine image as a sporting nation and we cannot allow the greed and misconduct of a few people to destroy this hard earned image of Kenya. We are a fine sporting nation that plays by the rules,” Namwamba says.
He adds; “If there is a doctor who is part of a syndicate that is providing banned substances to our athletes, I am on you right from this presser. If you are an agent, foreign or local and part of this syndicate that is getting us on the brink of being considered for banning, be warned that from this moment, your days are numbered.”
Speaking to Capital Sports previously, Athletics Kenya Executive Committee member Barnaba Korir said they will seek a meeting with Ababu as well as the Parliamentary Committee on Sports to ensure stiffer penalties for those found guilty of doping.
