” We wish to respond to a media report published on Sunday 30th July by the ZDF German Television Channel titled: Kenya’s Doping Scene, which depicts the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) as abetting doping cases in athletics in the country. In the seven-minute video released by the Channel an ‘anonymous source’ purporting to be a Manager at ADAK details how the entire Agency is compromised as athletes take Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs).
The ‘Manager’ further alleges that ADAK’s Testing Officers are bribed by a Mr. Frederico Rosa so as to cover up doping activities by athletes. Another anonymous source in the clip alleges that when ADAK Officers come across a positive case of doping they use the information to extort money, in form of bribes, from athletes’ Managers and ensure such reports are never published.
We wish to state that while ALL the above information regarding ADAK and other innuendos contained in the video clip is inaccurate, the report is also factually defective. ADAK’s role in the testing process is as follows;
The World Anti-Doping Code International Standard for Laboratories (ISL) is a mandatory International Standard developed as part of the World Anti-Doping Program and it governs how World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Accredited laboratories operate.
Samples are analyzed only in WADA Accredited laboratories or laboratories otherwise approved by WADA. Before approving any such laboratory, WADA will ensure it meets the high analytical and custodial standards required.
Once a sample (urine or blood) is collected from an athlete, it is transferred to a WADA Accredited laboratory for analysis. The entire process is meticulously documented including at a minimum, the date and time of sample collection, the time of change of custody from Doping Control Officer (DCO) to courier, date and time of receipt in the laboratory and the name and signature of the Laboratory representative receiving the samples. This information is recorded in the Chain of Custody forms.
WADA Accredited Laboratories have a system to uniquely identify the samples and associate each sample with the collection document or another external chain of custody. The name of the athlete is never included in the documentation that goes to the laboratory.
Laboratories then analyze samples and report results in the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS), which is a highly secure web-based database management tool for data entry, storage, sharing, and reporting designed to assist stakeholders and WADA in their Anti-Doping operations in conjunction with data protection legislation.
The National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO), under which category ADAK falls, does not receive any test results directly. They are instead posted on ADAMS by the laboratory and WADA, NADOs and International Federations (IFs) have access to this information. It is, therefore, impractical for ADAK to manipulate test results.
From the above process, it is clear ADAK’s role is guided by laid down international frameworks and that the Agency is just one among the many stakeholders in the anti-doping tests cycle. In addition, it is not within ADAK’s powers to cover up a positive doping case as we do not have a private laboratory where samples collected from athletes are analyzed and the results only revealed to ADAK.
We also wish to dispel the notion that the Agency is a haven for corruption. As a State Agency established under the Anti-Doping Act, 2016 ADAK is founded on a platform of integrity which is also one of our core values. We have a legal mandate of promoting participation in sport, free from doping in order to protect the health and well-being of competitors and the rights of all persons who take part in sport.
Similarly, our Staff is characterized by outstanding high morals and their actions are guided by adherence to the requirements of Chapter Six of the Kenyan Constitution. As we work hard to ensure a clean sporting environment for all athletes, we also request members of the press to exemplify one of the core principles of journalism; verification of information before publishing as it is clear no ADAK member of Staff was interviewed by ZDF.”
Japhter K. Rugut, EBS
Chief Executive Officer
