Kenya on WADA watch for starving ADAK of cash

From left: Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sarah Shibutse, Head of Education Martin Youma, Ministry of Sports official Juliana Nyaga, and Keiyo North Deputy County Commissioner Julius Maiyo during a press conference in Iten on November 22. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

When the war against doping was shifting to the top gear and sleeves were being rolled in a bid to get Kenya out of Category A of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) compliance watch list, a budget cut dropped like a bombshell.

As a result, WADA is now closely watching the happenings in Kenya’s fight against use of banned substances, the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) has revealed.

The government starved ADAK of funds in the 2024-2025 financial year; allocating the national body Sh0.0 amidst rising cases of doping.

ADAK now says efforts to have the agency’s budget reinstated have been met with unexplained delays, in the last four months of the financial year.

The agency’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sarah Shibutse says her frequent visits to the National Treasury to push for reinstatement of the ADAK budget was yet to yield any results.

Shibutse told a media briefing in Iten last weekend that its operations had stalled following the budget crisis.

She said ADAK was pegging its hopes on a promise that the anti-doping agency would be allocated money to run its campaigns in an upcoming supplementary budget.

“The concern is still there…. Our programmes have stalled and WADA is looking to see how fast the budget can be reinstated,” Shibutse said.

She said the Ministry of Sports had taken up the issue and both the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary have been having talks and sessions with their counterparts in the National Treasury to see how fast they can reinstate ADAK’s budget.

Sources at ADAK said the agency does not have internet services and has been struggling to pay rent.

The agency is now left running the five-year enhanced anti-doping programme, a multi-agency campaign spearheaded by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in collaboration with ADAK and Athletics Kenya (AK).

“I have also had sessions, alongside the board members and we are waiting to see how it will go,” said Shibutse.

The ADAK boss went on to say: “They (Treasury) had indicated that it would come in the supplementary budget. We hope it will be sooner rather than later.”

The agency had a two-day session with athletes and also met national government administration officials including Deputy County Commissioners, Chiefs and their assistance as well as religious leaders in the enhanced anti-doping campaign.

“We have many athletes who have suddenly died (because of side effects of substances)… We had two sessions with athletes and a meeting with administrators and religious leaders. We are not only talking to the athletes. They will help us bring the athletes back to clean sport,” she said.

She added:“We get assistance from government authorities in providing security and during raids as well as sensitization. We created awareness on the various charges in the war against doping, among them, aiding and abetting, trafficking among other charges.”

A senior Ministry of Sports official Juliana Nyaga confessed that the ADAK funding problem was a major concern.

“Funding is an issue but we are doing our best but the government is committed,” Nyaga said.

Keiyo North Deputy County Commissioner Julius Maiyo said the battle against doping will be intelligence-led.

Maiyo pointed accusing fingers on schemes by individuals including foreigners who he claimed were introducing Kenyan athletes to banned drugs.

“Everybody from all over the world is in Iten and some people are not happy that Kenyans are winning races across the world. We are seeing some foreigners bringing into the country some suspicious substances.

“We once arrested a foreigner in possession of substances labeled sports fuel and the drugs, which were in large numbers, were confiscated and action was taken after analysis,” the government administrator said.

He raised concern over failure by athletes to report cases of doping.

Emmaculate Anyango, who represented Kenya at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade is the latest to be sanctioned by AIU. She was earlier this month slapped with a six-year ban.