Kenya will not spare any efforts in the fight against doping.
President William Ruto said the Government will go the extra mile in protecting the integrity of athletics.
He announced that the Government has set aside Ksh3.7 billion to help in the fight against doping for the next five years.
The President made the remarks on Thursday, January 5, 2023, at State House, Nairobi, when he met the President of World Athletics Sebastian Coe.
They pledged to work together in creating the right frameworks for athletes to succeed.
“We will collaborate with partners, sportsmen and their contact to tackle doping that threatens our heritage,” said President Ruto.
He also took to his social media pages to share his government’s commitment to ending the vice.
“We are determined to protect Kenya’s reputation and heritage as an athletics powerhouse. We are ready to work together with athletes, their contacts, and partners to confront the doping menace and protect the integrity of our champions. We thank the World Athletics for its consideration of Kenya’s situation,” the Head of State said in a post on his verified Facebook page.
We are determined to protect Kenya's reputation and heritage as an athletics powerhouse. We are ready to work together with athletes, their contacts and partners to confront the doping menace and protect the integrity of our champions. pic.twitter.com/NLhX8oJ5N9
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) January 5, 2023
Doping ban scare
The commitment come just months following a doping ban scare that the country was facing.
Despite being a top country in middle and long-distance races, Kenya has in recent years been hit with the widespread use of performance-enhancement drugs among some of its athletes.
At the height of an imminent ban, Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba admitted the country was in a ‘doping crisis’ but said he had written to the World Athletics assuring the government’s commitment to addressing the issue.
“Government is taking firm measures to protect and uphold the integrity of athletics,” Namwamba said, adding that the government was “treating it as a matter of top strategic national interest”.
“We will not allow unethical individuals to ruin Kenya’s reputation through doping. We must defeat doping and its perpetrators,’ the CS added in a tweet.
