With an Olympic ban hanging over the country, confusion surrounds an anti-doping bill that is a key condition to participate in the Rio games.
Yesterday, there were blame games in the National Assembly after it emerged that the bill has disappeared in the maze of parliamentary bureaucracy, just two months to the expiry of a deadline given by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) for its enactment.
Cherangany MP Wesley Korir, who is sponsoring it, said his bill is yet to be brought to the House, a year after he published it.
He told MPs that even as the country stared at the grim reality of being banned from the 2016 Olympic Games, his bill had been relegated to the back burner of parliamentary business. “I published the bill but it has not seen the light of day. It has been languishing before the Labour and Social Welfare Committee,” he said.
Questions on the whereabouts of the bill emerged, with the Labour committee chairperson, David Were (Matungu), disputing the assertion by the former athlete. He told MPs that what his colleague had brought before the committee were “legislative proposals” and not a bill.
Cross hairs
“As far as we are concerned, there is no bill,” said Mr Were whose committee is in charge of sports.
Kenya is among countries in the cross hairs of Wada and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for violating anti-doping codes.
The exchanges in the House underline the precarious position the country finds itself in, just a few months after Wada banned Russia from participating in the Rio Olympic Games due to doping claims.
Two weeks ago, IAAF chief Lord Sebastian Coe, warned that he would not hesitate to ban Kenya from the games if it does not comply with the code. “We know a disproportionate amount of reputation damage is caused by a relatively few countries and we have to be much more proactive,” he said.
The uncertainty surrounding the enactment of the bill prompted Speaker Justin Muturi to order that the bill be prioritised. Mr Muturi asked the bill’s sponsor to follow up to ensure that the country does not suffer the disgrace of being locked out of the August games.
“If you indeed brought a bill, please precede with speed. I’m sure many of your colleagues sympathise with you since you are a former athlete,” he said.
