Alarm as budget cuts threaten Kenya's fight against doping

Kenya's battle against doping suffered a serious blow due to budget cuts that have halted all testing, according to the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).

ADAK has raised concerns over their allocation of a mere Ksh20 million, to run day-to-day programmes for the financial year starting July. The amount is far below the expected Ksh288 million, the amount the Agency had budgeted for.

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The programme is reportedly one of the victims of large-scale budget cuts imposed by the government after scraping the finance bill that had triggered massive protests in June.

"This move has grounded the agency, and we are not able to fulfil our obligations, hence risking non-compliance to the World Anti-Doping Code," ADAK board chief Daniel Makdwallo said. 

"I urge the national treasury to reconsider this funding gap and reinstate the budget for the Agency in order to protect Kenyan athletes."

Kenya has worked to clean her act after being placed in WADA's Category A more than five years ago.

A revamped ADAK has been active, sanctioning 78 athletes in the last three years alone.

In June, it handed out its first-lifetime ban to marathon runner Beatrice Toroitich and a six-year ban to 10km record-holder Rhonex Kipruto.

The government announced in April 2023 that it would invest Ksh3.2 billion over five years to combat the problem.

Additional reporting by AFP