We'll uphold zero tolerance for doping, says Sports CS Namwamba

Cabinet secretary for Youth and Sports Affairs  Ababu Namwamba has reiterated his ministry’s tough stance on doping across all sporting activities in the country.

Speaking at a sports partners meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday, Namwamba bemoaned the malpractice and warned athletes of tough penalties should they be found culpable.

“Today and forever, zero tolerance for doping. And we are confronting doping in a systematic way deliberate, intentional and structural manner like Kenya has ever done before,’’ the CS said.

The minister’s sentiments come after nearly 70 Kenyan athletes-mostly long-distance runners  failed drug tests in the last five years alone, prompting a ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Namwamba further revealed that the ministry signed partnership deals with the US National Basketball Association (NBA) to develop the game in the country.

On music and acting, he detailed how a deal signed with Grammy and animation studios will not only grow the entertainment industry to a global stage but also see the animation studios shoot 15 premier movies in different parts of the country this year.

More bilateral agreements, he added, with countries like china, France, and Mozambique and Angola will put the country on the global map, not just in sports affairs but in the arts as well.

“Last year, our boxers travelled to train in Cuba under such agreement as part of a partnership between the government of Kenya and Cuba to grow the game,’’ he further added.

Quizzed on the chances of national team Harambee Stars excelling at Afcon 2027, the lawyer cum politician expressed optimism that Kenya will post incredible results.

He urged corporations and partnerships to come on board in preparing the country for the continental football showpiece that Kenya is co-hosting with Tanzania and Uganda.