WADA gives Kenya month's grace on doping

WADA has granted a one-month extension to Kenya to comply with its code and thereby avoid future sanctions

Kenya has been handed a one-month extension to comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code and thereby avoid future sanctions, an official told Reuters on Thursday.

"We have been given a one-month extension by WADA ... we are proceeding to Mombasa to consult with the parliamentary committee on labour and sports so that when the (new anti-doping) bill comes for a second reading ... we will be on the same page," said an Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) source.

The bill is a key requirement for the east African nation, famed for its distance runners but tarnished by around 40 doping cases in recent years, to be declared compliant with the WADA code ahead of the Rio Olympics in August.

"We have no doubt things will be fine," added the highly placed source who declined to be identified.

Kenya was given a deadline to enact the law or be declared non-compliant, which brings WADA sanctions, but parliament went into recess earlier this month and the bill could not become law before time ran out on April 5.

Athletics world governing the IAAF said last month it was highly unlikely Kenya would be suspended from the Olympics.

WADA is due to issue its decision on Kenya's case at a May 12 board meeting.

Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta said on Tuesday the bill could not be fast-tracked to beat the deadline but he was certain his nation's athletes would be participating at the Olympics.

"The country is committed and what we are telling them (WADA) is ... let our processes go through," Kenyatta told France 24 in an interview.

"I'm confident Kenya will participate at the Olympics and win more gold ... the problem would have been if there was lack of commitment in terms on enacting. That commitment is there at the National Assembly."

WADA spokesman Ben Nichols told the BBC on Tuesday that his agency was happy with the first steps Kenya had taken towards meeting compliance.

The country's sports cabinet secretary Dr Hassan Wario told the BBC the committee on labour and sports would meet in Mombasa on Friday to pour over the bill before it went for its second and third readings.


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world