Tergat urges World Athletics to give Kenya a second chance

Barely a day after the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts Ababu Namwamba assured World Athletics of Kenya’s zero tolerance on doping, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya has thrown its weight behind the ministry’s boss urging the governing body to give the country a second chance.

Namwamba who has been vocal on the elimination of the vice assured the world’s governing body of Kenya’s commitment in winning the war on use of banned substances in the wake of the possibility of the country being kicked out of international competitions.

In a move aimed at intensifying the fight, NOC-K struck a deal with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), Kenya Association of Physicians (KAP) and Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and University of Nairobi (UON) in conducting sensitization sessions for Kenyan healthcare providers and medical practitioners with regards to the anti-doping measures currently in place in sport.

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NOC-K President Paul Tergat, said Kenya’s elimination from international competitions will cost many jobs and livelihoods. He called for a fast-tracking of criminalization of doping as a way of making the vice expensive.

“A ban or suspension of our country is a very expensive affair that will cost the country jobs, the lives of many affected in various ways and, therefore, we must support the Government proposal by the Cabinet Secretary to criminalize the enterprise and its perpetrators harshly. That is the NOC-K position, too”, he said.

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NOC-K pledged to support the Government, Athletics Kenya, ADAK and other local and international players to see Kenya boast of clean, doping-free sporting as a key member of the international sporting movement.

“This is why we join our voice in pleading with the World Athletics and other parties to withhold any punitive measures such as a ban or suspension and consider the multi-faceted efforts of the Kenyan community, led by the Government, as a positive sign and contribution towards a zero-doping environment in Kenya and the world at large”, he added.