Kenya will beat Wada deadline: president

Kenya remains confident of complying with the WADA code in time to avoid sanctions which could include a ban from the Rio Olympics.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta says the nation will beat a May deadline to comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code and avoid sanctions that could include a ban from the Rio Olympics.

Kenyatta on Monday said the government had made the bill a priority and he was giving it close attention.

"By next week (at the) latest, the Anti-Doping Bill will have been passed by Parliament and I will have signed it into law so that there will be no excuse to deny our team from participation in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August," he said.

"We know there are people who are looking for excuses to ensure that Kenya does not participate in the Olympics. We will not give them that excuse."

Kenya was given a one-month extension on April 7 to comply with the WADA code or face sanctions that could include a ban from this year's Rio Games.

The African nation, famed for its distance runners but tarnished by around 40 doping cases in recent years, missed a February deadline to establish a legal framework for its Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).


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Source: AAP



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