Anti-Doping Agency feels vindicated after sentencing of ex-athlete, coach over false doping allegations against Kenya

Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya CEO Sarah Shibutse.

Anti-Doping Agency feels vindicated after sentencing of ex-athlete, coach over false doping allegations against Kenya

Joel Omotto 10:00 - 10.04.2024

Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya has expressed its relief at seeing a retired athlete and coach sentenced after falsifying reports to paint Kenya as a doping haven.

Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) has lauded the sentencing of a former athlete and coach over false doping allegations against Kenyan athletes.

In a landmark ruling, Elias Kiptum, a retired athlete, and coach Paul Kibet Simbolei were sentenced by a court at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Tuesday after they were found guilty of falsifying reports to paint Kenya as a doping haven.

Kiptum received a one-and-half-year jail term, while Simbolei was handed a one-year sentence after they had faced charges of concocting false doping allegations against Kenyan athletes.

With ADAK having been on the forefront of the issue, the organisation is relieved that the truth has finally come out and those responsible punished.

“We have been vindicated because you would have thought that we are engaging in malpractices when we are not but it just shows that people need to be careful and athletes should be careful with whom and how they engage with,” ADAK CEO Sarah Shibutse told Pulse Sports.

“It just shows that as Kenyans, we need to be patriotic to our own country. Why we would want to sell out our fellow countrymen is something we should not be engaging in.

“Fine, there are those who take performance-enhancing substances but there are also those who advocate for clean sport and there are those who participate in various sports while clean.

“Let us not to be the ones who taint the image of our fellow countrymen and country.”

Shibutse admits the case is another illustration that the fight against doping is not just restricted to athletes who are active but also has other elements keen on benefiting from it and believes a multi-agency approach is the only solution.

“The onus is on us to see how we can engage with other agencies to ensure that we try to attack this menace through all ways and means,” she added.

“Our athletes also need to know they have talent and not be coerced to use performance enhancing drugs.”

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