MONTREAL: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Thursday it was a “little bit more concerned” by drugs scandals that continue to rock the sporting scene in Kenya.

Distance running powerhouse Kenya has invested massively to clean up its image after a string of doping scandals around the 2016 Rio Olympics led to it being declared non-compliant by WADA.

In April 2023, it announced an investment of $25 million over five years to combat the problem.

But that has not stopped a number of high-profile athletes testing positive and picking up bans.

Nearly 130 Kenyan athletes, mainly distance runners, have been sanctioned for drugs offences since 2017.

“Kenya has been a concern for a number of years,” acknowledged Olivier Niggli, director general of WADA, after a meeting of the anti-doping body’s executive committee.

“There was, let’s say, quite a radical change when the government committed to invest significantly in anti-doping, in particular after the request from the athletics federation.

“Things have improved on that front, but on the other hand, we also know that there are a number of ongoing issues, including internal investigations and so on, that are happening in Kenya.”

Niggli added: “At the moment, we are watching and we are not exactly sure where this is going to land.

“But of course, this [Kenya] is a place where there are, let’s say, easy availability of some substances and where the gain that can be made by some of these athletes, if they win in the sports field, is enormous compared to the average income in the country.

“Therefore the incentive, I think, is probably bigger than in many other countries. So this certainly remains something that we want to continue to follow closely and watch what’s the evolution.

“We’re hoping it was on the right track. Now we are a little bit more concerned.”

World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe said on a visit to Kenya earlier this month that he was satisfied with the progress made by the east African country in fighting doping which had threatened to make it a sporting pariah.

Coe met with Kenyan officials in Nairobi and struck a more positive tone than his last visit in January 2023 when he warned the country faced a “long journey” to tackle the issue.

He said progress was evident in increased anti-doping personnel, testing, investigation and education programmes.

“We are moving in the right direction,” he said. “But we are coming from a little way back. We will keep faith with the system and the people I trust to challenge the scourge.”

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2025