Running News Daily

Kenya´s President Uhuru Kenyatta to sign Anti-Doping Bill into law

President Uhuru Kenyatta will Wednesday sign into law the Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill 2020, placing Kenya at the cusp of complying with the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code.

This is after the Senate, in a special sitting held Tuesday, concurred with the National Assembly and approved the Bill without amendments, paving the way for Presidential assent.

Nation Sport has learnt that State House has asked the two Speakers – Justin Muturi and Kenneth Lusaka – to avail the Bill to the President on Wednesday for the signing ceremony in what is seen as deliberate effort to beat the deadline put in place by the World Anti Doping Agency (Wada).

The signing of the Bill Wednesday will pave the way for Kenya’s participation in major international events in 2021, including the Olympics which were called off this year due to Covid-19 Pandemic.

The code, which aims to ensure that athlete rights within anti-doping are clearly set out, accessible, and universally applicable, was approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and published in June 2020 and comes into force on January 1, 2021, the time in which the Kenyan law must be in place.

Senators who contributed to the debate on the Bill railed at the Ministry of Sports, accusing it of incompetence and acting as if the Wada deadlines did not exist.

Even though the code was adopted in September, the Ministry of Sports only submitted the draft to Parliament on December 7, long after Parliament had gone to Christmas recess.

Agents at fault

They however hailed the code as an important milestone in the career of Kenyan athletes arguing that it will guarantee greater success especially for long distance running that Kenya is famed for.

They however took a dig at the agents who they accuse of taking advantage of inexperienced athletes and initiating them into doping for self-gain.

Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula urged the government and the world athletics governing body to consider punishing agents in situations where the athletes are caught on the wrong side of doping.

“Most of the price money received by athletes ends up in the pockets of the agents. That is why they hold our athletes as guinea pigs,” Mr Wetangula told the House, adding that it is the agents who introduce athletes to performance enhancement drugs for selfish gain.

“Such crooked agents should be expelled from Kenya and if necessary prosecuted and imprisoned as a deterrent for destroying careers of young innocent athletes.”

Nandi senator Samson Cherarkey observed that doping has stained the Kenya sport in recent times, a fact he also blamed on the agents.

“This Bill offers an access card to our athletes. I urge all of us to pass this law so that it can open the way for Kenyan athletes to participate in international competitions.”