WADA Statement on Kenyan NADO

WADA wishes to provide an update on the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK)’s compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code).

In February, we confirmed that the Kenyan Government had missed an 11 February deadline to establish the appropriate legal framework necessary for the new NADO in Kenya, the ADAK, to implement a program in line with the Code’s requirements. As a result of failing to meet the requirements within the deadline, the matter was referred to WADA’s independent Compliance Review Committee for their review.

The Compliance Review Committee met yesterday, 5 April, to discuss the outstanding issues related to the implementation of the 2015 Code in the Kenyan legal system. The Committee concluded that the current situation is not in compliance with the 2015 Code, since the bill, policy and ADAK rules have not yet been formally adopted.

Unless the bill, policy and ADAK rules are formally adopted by 2 May 2016, the Compliance Review Committee’s recommendation to the WADA Foundation Board will be to declare the ADAK non-compliant.

The WADA Foundation Board will vote on the matter at its next meeting in Montreal on 12 May 2016.

Source: https://www.wada-ama.org

Kenya will beat Wada deadline, says president

Kenya 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, President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Monday.

Speaking at a breakfast for Paris marathon and world half-marathon athletes at the State House, Kenyatta 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,” he was quoted as saying in an official news release.

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).

Kenyatta said Kenyan athletes had brought pride and international recognition to the country and outlined the financial rewards on offer to Olympic medal winners.READ MORE