Korir confident Kenya will remain WADA compliant amid ADAK anxiety

Athletics Kenya Youth and Development Director Barnaba Korir believes the Government of Kenya cannot let the country to sink into non-compliance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations.

His observation follows an alarm raised by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) after major funding cuts. He has however acknowledged the need to quickly address the issues raised by ADAK.

In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Korir expressed confidence that the country will remain compliant with regulations, and that there is no risk of being sanctioned by WADA.  

“As far as [Athletics Kenya] is concerned, the matter is being handled by the government, and I don't think there should be any worry,” he said.

ADAK chairman Amb. Daniel Makdwallo on Tuesday said that  due to a slash in government funding, the agency is unable to carry out its mandate and risks major sanctions from WADA.

The National Treasury assigned ADAK KSh.288m for its operations in the 2023/24 financial year but was cut to just KSh.20m for this year, hence the concerns.

Korir revealed discussions from a recent meeting with the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), saying that athletes testing has remained continuous due to the support programme from World Athletics. 

Korir thus insists that the complaints from ADAK are “internal issues” regarding salaries, and the government cannot allow non-compliance to occur.

“What was required, was [for] ADAK to sit down with the government and explain exactly, what were the requirements. 

“The government is pursuing that matter and they are going to make sure that the funds definitely will be sourced to make sure that the functions of ADAK are not impeded in any way,” he noted.

In the same breath, he has appealed for a swift response to the concerns raised by ADAK.

“It is not only about athletics that would be affected if we were to be declared non-compliant. It would mean ending up like Russia and I want to believe that there is no one in this country who wants us to go that direction.  

"It is a matter of explanation so that the leadership understands there is need for us to sacrifice so that resources that were meant for ADAK remain that way,” said Korir.

“If something happens with ADAK it means there is no other body mandated to make to do what they do here. It would therefore put us in danger of being kicked out of international competitions. That would mean whatever efforts we are putting for sports development will be wasted because no one will be competing ,” elucidated Korir.

In 2016 during the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, the WADA charged the government to create ADAK in order to curb the doping menace that had hit the country.

With Kenya still in the red list Korir says there is no room for gaps.

“We were on the verge of being removed from the World Athletics institutions because of doping. Therefore, for us to continue with competing during the Rio Olympic games the government had to adopt the establishment of ADAK which was enacted by the Act of Parliament.

"This was done to save the country from being removed from international competitions, and the gains made so far are enormous. We can't afford to crumble everything down," explained the Nairobi Region AK Chairman. 

ADAK CEO Sarah Shibutse on Tuesday outlined the potential consequences of non-compliance, which includes possibly losing the right to host the 2025 African Nations Football Championship.