President Uhuru to sign Anti-Doping Bill into law

President Uhuru Kenyatta will Wednesday sign into law the Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill 2020, placing Kenya at the cusp of complying with the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code.

This is after the Senate, in a special sitting held Tuesday, concurred with the National Assembly and approved the Bill without amendments, paving the way for Presidential assent.

Nation Sport has learnt that State House has asked the two Speakers – Justin Muturi and Kenneth Lusaka – to avail the Bill to the President on Wednesday for the signing ceremony in what is seen as deliberate effort to beat the deadline put in place by the World Anti Doping Agency (Wada).

The signing of the Bill Wednesday will pave the way for Kenya’s participation in major international events in 2021, including the Olympics which were called off this year due to Covid-19 Pandemic.

The code, which aims to ensure that athlete rights within anti-doping are clearly set out, accessible, and universally applicable, was approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and published in June 2020 and comes into force on January 1, 2021, the time in which the Kenyan law must be in place.

Senators who contributed to the debate on the Bill, railed at the Ministry of Sports, accusing it of incompetence and acting as if the Wada deadlines did not exist.

Even though the code was adopted in September, the Ministry of Sports only submitted the draft to Parliament on December 7, long after Parliament had gone to Christmas recess.

But speaking to Nation Sport Tuesday night, Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said the process of executing the amendments has not been easy and thanked the two houses of Parliament and national government for their support.

“It was very challenging and I must thank the Attorney General, Solicitor General, head of public service, the two Speakers of Parliament, the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya and all players for their support, and also to His Excellency the President for leading from the front,” Amina said.

“There was no crisis and the process was well managed with no-one working at cross purposes.
It was an amazing team spirit.”

Agents at fault

They however hailed the code as an important milestone in the career of Kenyan athletes arguing that it will guarantee greater success especially for long distance running that Kenya is famed for.

They however took a dig at the agents who they accuse of taking advantage of inexperienced athletes and initiating them into doping for self-gain.

Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula urged the government and the world athletics governing body to consider punishing agents in situations where the athletes are caught on the wrong side of doping.

“Most of the price money received by athletes ends up in the pockets of the agents. That is why they hold our athletes as guinea pigs,” Mr Wetangula told the House, adding that it is the agents who introduce athletes to performance enhancement drugs for selfish gain.

“Such crooked agents should be expelled from Kenya and if necessary prosecuted and imprisoned as a deterrent for destroying careers of young innocent athletes.”

Nandi senator Samson Cherarkey observed that doping has stained the Kenyan sport in recent times, a fact he also blamed on the agents.

“This Bill offers an access card to our athletes. I urge all of us to pass this law so that it can open the way for Kenyan athletes to participate in international competitions.”

He challenged the Ministry of Sports to ensure that the monies the athletes win in road races are not subjected to double taxation so as to ensure that they retain a huge chunk of their money for personal development.

International Standards

One of the provisions in the Bill, and the Code, that is likely to excite the athletes is one that places the burden of proof to those who accuse Kenyan athletes of using performance enhancing drugs.

Previously, the burden was with the athletes to prove that they were not doping.

The Bill further empowers the Sports Tribunal with the jurisdiction to hear and determine cases on anti-doping rule violations at national and lower level athletes and athlete support personnel; other persons subject to the Anti-Doping Rules and anti-doping rule violations arising from national and lower level events.

In executing its mandate, the Tribunal shall be guided by the Code, the International Standards established under the Code, the 2005 UNESCO Convention Against Doping in Sports, the Sports Act, and the Agency's Anti-Doping Rules, amongst other legal sources.

However, the Tribunal shall not have jurisdiction over Appeals involving International Level athletes or arising from the participation in International Events or national crimes related to doping.

WADA, the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, and the relevant International Federations will have the right to a second appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) with respect to the appeal decisions of the Tribunal.

The code contains the 2021  List of Prohibited Substances and Methods, the summary of major modifications and explanatory notes; and the 2021 Monitoring Programme. The List has been redesigned in order to improve navigation and usability for athletes and their support personnel.

The List is also one of the International Standards that are mandatory for all signatories of the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) and designates what substances and methods are prohibited both in- and out-of-competition and which substances are banned in particular sports.