Kenya shouldn't bury head in the sand over age cheating scandal

Thea Lafond of Dominica competes in the Women's Triple Jump during the 2023 USATF NYC Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium on June 24, 2023 in New York City.[AFP]

Kenyan athletics is once again on the spot, with concerns being raised on age manipulation among athletes.

Allegations of several athletics stars presenting inaccurate dates of birth to be allowed to unfairly participate in junior races, is placing Kenya on the spotlight.

Like doping, age cheating is sparking fears of sanctions and more scrutiny on the country’s youngsters.

The matter, which is under investigation, has attracted the attention of global athletics bodies.

World Athletics and the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) are currently investigating age cheating in the country, a communication by Athletics Kenya (AK) to regional officials reveals.

Some athletics coaches and teachers have recently been blamed for the malpractice in sport.

According to a communiqué from AK Chief Administrative Secretary Susan Kamau, the federation said it is concerned by the rising cases of age cheating by the country’s athletes.

AK said the matter was brought to its attention by World Athletics and AIU, which are currently undertaking investigations on the matter.

“AK notes with concern the rising cases of age cheating by athletes. The matter has been brought to our attention by the World Athletics and Athletics Integrity Unit who are currently conducting investigations on the same,” the communication dated August 14 reads in part.

The federation directed chairpersons and secretaries at its branches including Central Rift, Central, North Rift, South Rift, Coast, Eastern, Nyanza North, Nyanza South, Nyanza North, Western and North Eastern as well as affiliates such as Kenya Defence Forces, Police and Prisons services and Universities to cooperate in the investigations.

AK further said that age cheating was a zero tolerance issue that would pose a serious threat to the sport.

“Age cheating presents unfair competition and violates integrity code,” said Kamau. “It is in this regard therefore that you (regional and affiliate officials) are hereby advised to ensure that all athletes in your region/affiliate present valid documents.” As a result of the doubts on ages, especially of junior athletes, the Kenyan squad to the 2024 World Under-20 championships set for Lima, Peru from August 27-31, was subjected to an enhanced scrutiny ahead of the global showpiece.

Security apparatus have been investigating cases where some unscrupulous individuals were manipulating government systems to alter birth certificates for the purpose of application of passports using changed dates of birth, in an age cheating racket.

Last month, AK disclosed that some 26 cases of age cheating were under investigation by relevant authorities.

The 26 cases, the federation said, date back to 2016, but investigations have not been conclusive.

Last month, AK President Jackson Tuwei said the federation was investigating the malpractices.

 “We are doing everything possible to ensure we end the vice. Currently we are now updating data at AK to ensure that this does not continue,” Tuwei said.

AIU has described age manipulation as a recent scourge in the sport, and that combating it was part of its broad mandate.

Examples of age cheating cases:

-26 cases of age cheating are under investigation in Kenya. Investigations are active.

-Dominican Republic athlete, Luguelín Santos was banned by AIU for three years for age-manipulation violations at the IAAF World Junior Championships (Barcelona 2012); his three-year period of ineligibility running from 11 March 2023 to 10 March 2026. He won a gold medal at the event.

-Earlier this year, Cameroonian Football Federation suspended 62 players for concealing their true ages. Wilfried Nathan Doualla, who caused a stir at AFCON was among those suspended.

-Chinese Football Association (CFA), established earlier in the year that Huang Yujie and Yu Weijing, both Under-15 players, had cheated in registering their ages. Both players were banned from playing any matches held by the Chinese Football Association from June 18 to August 17, 2024.