ELDORET: Olympics-bound athletes will be subjected to an unprecedented three-times dope testing regime before leaving the country for Brazil.
The athletes are set to depart on July 31 for the multi-sport bonanza in Rio de Janeiro.
In a meeting yesterday, Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario said the Government was taking the allegations seriously even as the captain of Team Kenya, Cherang’any MP Wesley Korir, took him to task for not doing enough to arrest the situation.
In a dramatic showdown in Eldoret yesterday, the Cherang’any legislator, who is one of the three male marathon runners, hit out at the Cabinet Secretary for dragging his feet in dealing with doping that has now cast the country in bad light.
To the disbelief of those present, Mr Korir fired the first salvo on Dr Wario and National Olympic Committee of Kenya officials: “All this has happened because of your not acting fast. In fact, I have contemplated resigning from this position as team captain. You, waziri (pointing at Wario), promised to arrive here at 8am and it’s now well past noon. We missed our training and even didn’t have breakfast!”
The infuriated MP added: “I had prepared a small memorandum from the athletes here, who are not happy with certain arrangements for the Olympics team, but I tore it in protest while seated here after I realised you people still believe in the old way of doing things.”
On Saturday, a documentary aired by German television ARD and carried by British paper The Sunday Times appeared to put the Kenyan team at par with some of the dirtiest countries in the world.
But Wario insisted: “We have invested Sh12 million and 32 athletes will be tested at the Olympics. So there is no cause for alarm. There is a difference between Kenya and Russia in the state of doping. It’s just like day and night. We don’t feel discriminated in any way but we know we are good enough for our competitors to feel bad.”
The CS added: “We have taken immediate steps to investigate doping allegations and the authenticity of the report made against the sports fraternity. As a nation renowned for our sporting prowess, we will relentlessly pursue these allegations to their logical conclusion and take action on anyone found culpable.”
Wario also responded to claims that foreign journalists, including the German and British journalists involved in the latest expose, used tourist visas to get into the country.
“We have had inter-ministerial meetings with the Interior ministry and other stakeholders and we will share information. That’s why we have representation from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) here,” he said.
The meeting comprised principal secretaries Richard Ekai (Sports), Joe Okutho (Culture and Arts), governors Jackson Mandago (Uasin Gishu) and Alex Tolgos (Elgeyo Marakwet), Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak) Chairman George Waweru and Chief Executive Japhter Rugut, as well as top officials of the National Olympics Committee of Kenya.
Wario said the National Police Service and Adak were investigating doping allegations.
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