Sports CS Namwamba declares total war on doping
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has vowed to conduct a full-fledged war against doping cartels and amend the law to criminalise it.
Namwamba is making a comeback to the docket close to a decade after he served as the Sports CS towards the end of the 2012 Grand Coalition Government, this time with stricter rules for athletes, coaches and managers if found guilty of violating doping rules.
Speaking at the Lobo Village in Eldoret when installing the fifth Air Quality Sensor in Kenya, Namwamba said that doping is like drug peddling which should be handled as such.
“We must also emphasize that we do not want doping cases anywhere near our sportspeople. We are going to make doping very expensive. And we are going to criminalise doping to an extent that you cannot imagine,” said Namwamba.
He urged sportsmen and women to compete clean to protect the image of Kenya as a sporting nation that is faithful to the rules and tenets of integrity.
“Compete clean and continue to protect Kenya’s verified image as a sporting nation that is faithful to the rules and tenets of integrity,” the CS urged the sports fraternity.
This comes weeks after dozens of Kenyan athletes were either suspended or banned due to alleged doping.
Meanwhile, CS Namwamba said that Athletics Kenya (AK) has been ahead in fighting climate change locally and internationally.
Sustainable development
“United Nation assembly resolution 7518 on sports as an enabler for sustainable development, highlights the call to integrate sports and physical activities into the national strategies for sustainable development.
“Taking note of the contributions that sports make to human well-being, Kenya is already on this path with AK a global trailblazer.
“I am pleased to say AK was the first of 214 world athletics member federations to commit to the sports for climate action under UN Framework Convention on Climate Change which seeks to reduce carbon emissions in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement,” Namwamba said.
