WADA concerned with doping in Kenya

The visit of World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) president John Fahey has firmly placed Kenya on the watch list for possible cheats in sports. Not even a reassuring statement from Sports Minister Ababu Namwamba to Fahey that the East African nation will fully corporate with WADA could water down the significance of the meeting. "There have been claims of doping in the country. We have to accept and confirm that there are a few exceptions and I believe they have been dealt with. But we must get to the root cause. For transparency purposes we are inviting the police and World Anti-Doping Agency to assist with investigations," Namwamba said on Friday in Nairobi. But Fahey said WADA was very alive to the charges against Kenyan athletes. "Kenya is a powerhouse in the world of sports, what occurs with athletes in this country is a shining example to the athletes of the world, it is therefore most important nation in the fight against doping in sport," said Fahey, Friday in Nairobi. Kenya athletics officials also admitted there might be deliberate doping going on in the country among its elite runners. Isaiah Kiplagat, Athletics Kenya President, said it was now mandatory for all road races in the country to make random doping test, especially for the winners in a bid to eradicate the vice. Kiplagat announced that there are doctors and agents operating in the country secretly who are injecting or offering elite athletes banned substances in exchange of rewards from the prize money once they win in local and international races. Several athletes have been busted in Kenya for doping including marathoner Mathew Kisorio, Rose Jepkemboi Chesire, the Macau International Galaxy Marathon in China last year. In 2008, AK banned sprinter Elizabeth Muthoka after she had taken a cocktail of drugs to cure her low haemoglobin (red blood cells) count but they contained the banned substance Nandrolone. Other Kenyans who have been banned for doping include road racer, Pamela Chepchumba (2003), Lydia Cheromei (Clomiphene) in 2006 and Susan Chepkemei (Salbutamol) 2007 and Mathew Kisorio. Sports Commissioner Gordon Oluoch said AK, National Olympic Committee to Kenya and the government will form a joint committee to work on the case and hope to clear Kenya's name soon. "Our athletes are known to compete globally and they are clean. We want to make sure we remain on that path. That is the assurance we had for WADA president," said Oluoch.