This archive report was first published on 28 June 2020.
On Saturday, Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed met with veteran athletes to discuss the country's growing doping problem, which has seen over 200 Kenyan athletes banned from competition.
According to Mohamed, the government is working closely with the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) to present a document to Parliament for debate, with the aim of passing legislation to criminalise doping offences.
"We are working on the document and hopefully it will be ready in two months," Mohamed told Xinhua. "ADAK will bring the document to us to do what is required," she added.
The proposed legislation would see offenders serve jail terms, as the country intensifies its fight against doping.
Kenya's reputation as a clean sports powerhouse has been tarnished in recent years, with high-profile cases involving athletes such as Rio 2016 Olympic marathon champion Jemima Sumgong, three-time Boston Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo, and former world champion Asbel Kiprop.
"It's about the image of our country. Kenya is a sports giant and we want to continue winning clean and therefore we don't want a few people to tarnish our reputation on the global scene by doping," Mohamed said.
She also warned foreign and local agents and coaches against influencing the younger athletes to dope by exploiting their ignorance.
"We have to warn unscrupulous managers, coaches and doctors not to take advantage of our athletes. We want a clean environment for our athletes to compete in knowing they will not be tempted to dope," Mohamed said.
