Athletics: Kenya moves towards radical measure to curb doping

Kenya is seeking a path to redemption. After more than twenty of its athletes were suspended for doping this year, the country wants to restore its reputation. The Kenyan sports minister already has a clear plan in mind: criminalising doping. According to Ababu Namwamba, the anti-doping policy adopted in 2016 is not working. Stronger measures are therefore needed to stop this runaway problem.

"Our initial investigations indicate that you have a very complex clandestine syndicate [involved in doping in athletics]. It involves agents, coaches and doctors, so several tools will need to be deployed to dismantle this syndicate. I think we must criminalise doping and put the handling of doping substances on the same level [as] narcotics. So, in the same way that we treat drug traffickers, we should treat those who engage in this practice in the same way", he told BBC Sport Africa.

Kenya avoided the worst

Kenya's situation this year raised fears of the worst. At one point, some observers spoke of the country being suspended from all athletics activity. However, it avoided that disaster. True, there were many doping cases, but they stemmed from individual initiatives by the athletes themselves.

Sebastian Coe, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, explained why. "They were not going to be banned because, unlike the Russian situation, which we have been dealing with for seven years, there is no clear evidence that this is state-sponsored or state-secured. The one thing I am optimistic about is that, from the highest level of government through all the stakeholders you would want on board - such as the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya, Athletics Kenya, the athletes themselves - there is a real determination to try to resolve this problem". It remains to be seen whether Kenya can quickly stamp out this wave of doping.