Kumari Taki asks ADAK to compensate him after misinformation that saw him kicked out of Commonwealth Games

Former World Under-20 1,500m champion Kumari Taki has called out the Anti-doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) for misinformation which in turn negatively affected his career.

Just before last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Taki was among the Kenyans who were not eligible for participation after being provisionally suspended by the AIU.

However, Taki insisted that he had not broken any Anti-doping rules and he was a clean athlete. He vowed to fight to remove his name from the list of shame. In a long post on his Instagram page, he explained how it was difficult to explain to his family what had happened.

“Last year just before the Commonwealth Games, I received a message from ADAK about my provisional suspension due to a positive result from my sample," he said.

"It came as a shock to me since I have always been a clean athlete, I was expelled from the team where I faced so much rejection, and on reaching Kenya, I had a very hard time explaining to my family the positive result.

"I was rejected, humiliated when news about me doping spread all over,” he posted on his Instagram page.

He added that it was the most difficult year for him since he expected to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games and now his dream was shattered. However, that did not affect him when it came to seeking justice.

He explained that he always cooperated with ADAK during the sample collections and anytime they failed to collect his samples, he always reached out.

He added that according to his ADAK account, the positive sample was collected in Iten while his sample was collected in Nyahururu where he trains but the agency could not explain what happened.

“I am a clean athlete and I will never support doping. My PB has been a result of my hard work and all my teammates can attest to that," he added.

"I urge ADAK to be careful to avoid mistakes since they have cost me my career for a whole year. I would be representing Kenya in Budapest but their mistakes have cost me. I have been psychologically affected but I hope to be back soon.

"I want my case to be handled internationally and ADAK to compensate me for all the missed income due to their mistakes."

He concluded by extending a hand of gratitude to his lawyer for the good representation, the tribunal for fair judgment, and his family for the support. However, the AIU is yet to announce whether Taki has been cleared from the suspension.