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Is the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) a doomed enterprise?
The ADAK has been given notice to vacate its lease as the organization has not paid rent in three months and cannot afford to conduct drug testing.
If ADAK can't even afford to pay their rent and internet… how on earth have they paid for any testing the last 3-4 months… or longer? https://t.co/YwtCQEA1Gd
— McKirdy Trained (@McKirdyTrained) October 26, 2024
The National Treasury decimated ADAK’s 2024/25 budget from ksh 288 million to just ksh 20 million (£4.17 million/€4.83 million).
Kenya, which has had its reputation destroyed by domestic violence, murder, extortion and tampering with drug tests as well as a massive decade-long doping scandal is alleged to be on the verge of being declared non-compliant by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The Kenyan government’s move to yank ADAK’s budget is putting the organization in a perilous position.
ADAK was established in 2016 to save Kenya from potential exclusion from the 2016 Rio Olympics. Following the path of Russia with their ban due to government-supported systematic doping.
Kenya’s problem is not related to systematic doping, but free access to performance-enhancing drugs at the street level. The situation is ripe for taking advantage of the racing market. Desperately poor athletes race to climb out of poverty. The motivation is high, as prize money from a mass marathon can set an athlete up financially for life.
What happened to the $ 5 million?
In 2022, Athletics Kenya avoided a two-year minimum ban after the government invested in the anti-doping program to attempt to stop the tsunami of doping positives.
“Over the course of one year 40 per cent of all the positives recorded in global athletics are in Kenya,” said World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.
Coe added “This will fund more people, more tests, more investigations and certainly bolster the already comprehensive education programs in place. The Athletics Integrity Unit will continue to work closely with Kenya to implement the plan and help progress and achievements. But building back trust will be a long journey. I know that Athletics Kenya and the Kenyan Government feel that this has been a disfiguring period in what should have been a Herculean period for Kenyan athletics. But all the stakeholders that matter both domestically and internationally are now aligned to do everything we can to resolve this situation. I think it’s pretty clear that we have taken very seriously the escalating problem that has arisen in Kenya.”
The Athletics Integrity Unit has caught the lion’s share of Kenyans, while ADAK has stepped up its results. Over the past few years, hundreds of Kenyan athletes have been suspended from a few months to eight years.
WADA expects the Kenyan government to return the budget
This week, WADA’s Africa Office Director, Rodney Swigelaar, met with the government of Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, the Hon. Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen. The two met in Nairobi to discuss strengthening ADAK. During the meeting, Murkomen assured that the ministry would continue efforts to ensure that the annual budget of ADAK reflects the country’s ongoing commitment to clean sport.
WADA should provide the Kenyan government with a deadline to reinstate the budget, otherwise it is unlikely to happen, therefore Murkomen simply bought more time.
