The successes in the war against doping cannot be achieved by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) alone, hence the need for collaboration with other stakeholders.
Speaking to the media, ADAK’s Head of Legal Services, Bildad Rogoncho, noted that in the successful prosecution of anti-doping rules in our nation, they have had a good collaboration with the judiciary, as they have given them a platform, the Sports Dispute Tribunal, to adjudicate cases.
“In fact, our systems, where we have the judiciary giving us a platform, are the best in the world; the resource management panel and the hearing panel are both institutionally and operationally independent from international doping organizations,” he explained.
Rogoncho noted a successful collaboration with the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to handle falsified medical documents related to anti-doping evaluation notices for athletes. Hence, he mentioned that they have a good relationship with the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) as they help the ADAK legal team, especially in the exchange of data and expertise.
“The hurdle that we have been facing is that we have rogue medical practitioners, especially in the North Rift region, who are aiding athletes in producing forged medical documents under the pretext that the athlete has consumed the banned substances because they are suffering from some ailments,” he said.”
He noted that one of the biggest challenges they are currently facing are the suppliers of banned substances who aid athletes in doping, and the agency is keen on fighting them.
Moreover, the head of legal services added that the sources are mostly those rogue medical practitioners—the chemists and pharmacies—who are supplying our athletes with these medications.
“We have joint operations with the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacist Dentist Union (KMPDU) and pharmacists to apprehend those rogue medical practitioners,” said Rogoncho.
He revealed that they caught a rogue medic recently in Kapsabet through alliance with other medics; hence, he called upon all stakeholders to support ADAK’s efforts, whose aim is to create an enabling environment for sports.
By Judy Too
