The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has removed Kenya from the World Anti-Doping Code’s non-compliant list of nations.
A WADA statement posted on it’s website today reads: “Following a circular vote of its Foundation Board members, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) wishes to announce that it has removed the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) from the list of signatories previously deemed non-compliant with the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code (the Code).
“Kenya has drafted and adopted anti-doping legislation now deemed to be in line with the Code.
“As stipulated in Article 23.5.5 of the Code, WADA will report the declarations of non-compliance to the Sports Movement and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).”
It will be recalled that Kenya was declared non-compliant in May this year after the Kenyan Government missed an 11 February deadline to establish the appropriate legal framework necessary for the new NADO in Kenya, the ADAK, to implement a programme in line with the Code’s requirements.
As a result of failing to meet the requirements within the deadline, the matter was referred to WADA’s independent Compliance Review Committee for their review.
The Compliance Review Committee met on 5 April and concluded that the current situation in Kenya is not in compliance with the 2015 Code, since the bill, policy and ADAK rules have not yet been formally adopted.
However, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta later signed the final ADAK bill – including new WADA amendments after the 22 April signing – into law on 23 June at State House, Nairobi in the presence of Sports Cabinet Secretary Dr Hassan Wario and National Olympics Committee of Kenya chairman Dr Kipchoge Keino.
Meet The Authors
Yomog Meje is a former Nigerian junior athlete and the Associate editor at Athletics Africa.
