Kenya’s progress in the fight against doping is at risk, and the country could face a ban from international competitions due to severe budget cuts that have halted all testing, the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) warned on Tuesday September 17.
ADAK revealed it has only received 20 million shillings (approximately $150,000) for its operations in the current financial year, far short of the 288 million shillings (around $2.2 million) expected. This shortfall is part of wider government budget cuts, following the abandonment of a tax bill amid mass protests in June.
“This funding shortfall has crippled the agency, leaving us unable to fulfill our obligations and risking non-compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code,” said ADAK Chairman Daniel Makdwallo. He urged the National Treasury to restore the agency’s budget to safeguard Kenyan athletes.
Kenya has made significant investments to clean up its reputation after numerous doping scandals, which nearly resulted in a ban from the 2016 Rio Olympics and led to the country being declared non-compliant by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In response, Kenya restructured its anti-doping efforts and has imposed 78 athlete sanctions in the last three years.
In June, ADAK issued its first lifetime ban to marathon runner Beatrice Toroitich and a six-year suspension to 10km road race record holder Rhonex Kipruto. Although the government initially pledged $25 million over five years to combat doping, this amount was drastically reduced in subsequent budgets.