Kenyan government has criminalized doping in the country after the Members of Parliament, the national Assembly complied with the Unesco convention after passing the Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill 2020.
This is the purpose of the amending is to align the Anti-Doping Act to the Code and the current code was ratified in 2015, which is due to be replaced by the 2021 code which will become operational on January 1, 2021.
With sports department chaired by Mavoko MP Patrick Makau, the MPs in a special sitting on Tuesday, the national Assembly passed the Bill awaiting president Uhuru Kenyatta to sign the Bill into law.
The Bill seeks to criminalize doping in sports, a move that will see offenders serve jail terms as the country intensifies the fight against the vice that has rocked its international recognition as an international athletics powerhouse.
The Bill seeks to harmonise the Anti-Doping Act of 2016 with the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code and Regulations to which Kenya is a party to.
“This Bill is very important to the country as it ensures that Kenya complies with the Wada (World Anti- Doping Agency) and Adak (Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya) code of regulations,” Makau.
The enactment of the law is expected to support the achievement of compliance by Kenya to the internationally adopted Code and facilitate the continued participation of Kenyan athletes in local, regional, and international competitions while appreciating the relevance of curbing doping in sports.
The passage of the Bill is, therefore, a warning that athletes have got to win clean in line with the Wada and Adak codes.
Already over 50 Kenyan athletes, World Anti-Doping Code was adopted in 2004. It was amended and a new one adopted in 2009.
The 2021 Code has introduced new international standards, being the 2021 International Standard for Education (ISE) and the 2021 International Standard for Results Management (ISRM).
Additional reporting: Daily Nation