Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed has denied claims of doping cover ups by the Kenyan authorities.
In a statement, CS Amina revealed that groups of unscrupulous characters are focused at tarnishing Kenya’s image in readiness to a major international event.
“We wish to state that the Ministry has noted with great concern that whenever Kenya is about to participate in a major International Sporting event, unscrupulous characters embark on a mission to disparage Kenya’s decades of well-deserved sporting repertoire and our leadership in the global anti-doping efforts,” said the sports CS in a statement.
The statement came after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) unmasked a forgery suspect conspiracy that is tasked with tarnishing Kenya’s image in the athletics world, by developing false doping allegations against Kenyan athletes.
According to the DCI, the perpetrators had prepared documents purporting that doping was being promoted and encouraged by several state agencies in the country, with the aim of having Kenya suspended from participating in the forthcoming Olympics in Japan.
The suspect who appeared at JKIA court denied all 12 charges leveled against him and remained in custody pending bail ruling slated for this Tuesday
CS Amina has also lamented the fact that local suspects are colluding with some international journalists in their course as revealed by the investigation agency.
“Certain international journalists have made this ‘doping’ crusade a personal mission and progressed journalistic material in the form of documentaries, digital and print press based on false information aimed at destabilizing the fabric of our national sporting heritage. Thankfully, this crusade is limited to a small number of journalists from Germany and more recently Denmark and Norway,” said the sports CS.
However, the CS reiterated Kenya’s commitment towards fighting doping insisting the government is commitment to taming out the vices that aims at tainting Kenya’s prowess in the athletics arena
“It is common knowledge that any athlete found culpable of doping globally in any country is sanctioned in accordance with international anti-doping regulations. This has been the case since doping was recognized as a crime at the beginning of the previous century,” she said.