Tum's rallying call for stakeholder partnerships in fight against doping

Sports Principal Secretary Eng. Peter Tum has called on structured partnerships between the media, government and different sports entities and stakeholders in the fight against doping.

ADAK warns of more doping cases amidst ramped up testing measures

Emphasizing on the importance of communication in this fight, Tum who was speaking during a two-day Anti-doping seminar for sports journalists, challenged all involved to embrace a multi-sectoral approach in curbing the menace that is doping.

"As government and a ministry, we understand and acknowledge the crucial role that sports journalists play in the fight against doping. 

As Anti-doping agencies carry out their mandate, especially on educating the athletes, media is one of the tools they use to create awareness and that is a crucial role," Tum said challenging journalists to remain ethical in their reporting with accurate and verifiable reporting. 

Kenya was placed on WADA’s compliance watch list in 2016 when it was described by World Athletics as one of its member federations majorly at risk of doping. Other countries in the list are Ethiopia, Nigeria, Bahrain, Morocco and Belarus.

So far this year, there are 25 cases of Kenyans who have been sanctioned for Anti-doping rule violations (ADRV's).

Some of the emerging trends that are contributing to more positive doping cases include the use of food supplements, blood doping, gene doping which is prevalent overseas, use of designer drugs that are available over the counter are could be laced with performance-enhancing substances as well as micro-dosing.