Deputy President William Ruto has announced increased cash incentives for Olympic medalists and in the same breath promised tougher punishment for dope cheats.
The DP noted on Friday, July 1, that the cheats risk putting the country in bad light at the Rio Games next month.
“Kenya is known worldwide for her athletics prowess and this is why we recalled Parliament from recess to pass the anti-doping legislation because we want to run clean sports,” Ruto said while addressing athletes and officials at the Olympic trials yesterday.
He added: “Anybody caught in any future doping scandal will be jailed for three years or fined Sh3 million ($29,721) because we want to get rid of crooked people misleading our athletes from our midst.”
Ruto said also the government has increased the award package for Olympics medal winners to Sh1 million for gold medalists, Sh750,000 for silver and Sh500,000 for bronze.
Teams winning gold medals will be also be rewarded with Sh500,000 for their efforts.
Kenya, which is respected for her middle and long distance runners, has off late been under the global microscope after more than 40 athletes failed dope tests in the past four years. Out of which eighteen are serving various sanctions.
At one point, the scourge put the country’s participation at the forthcoming Rio Olympics at risk with the World Anti-Doping Agency ordering that Kenya put her house in order by setting rules and also abide by its code.
An anti-doping legislation in line with the WADA code has since been signed into law.
But even after the outcome, the International Association of Athletics Federations maintains that Kenyan and Russian athletes who qualify for the Olympics will have to undergo fresh screening.
Local athletes have often blamed the government and Athletics Kenya for doing little to educate them on doping issues, even as the latter continue to shift blame to foreign agents managing athletes for the doping incidents.
