The government is investigating the motive behind the publication of doping allegations against Kenya's Rio Olympics team in the British Sunday Times.
Sports CS Hassan Wario said the state suspected mischief in the claims, following a second story by the international media on doping in Kenya.
The CS said in a statement that the government, based on the evidence collected, had reason to believe documents cited in the two publications may have been forged by unscrupulous individuals.
He said they suspected the publications coerced their sources to falsify information on doping, further asking why the
Times withheld such information from relevant authorities.
Kenya’s athletics team manager Michael Rotich was , following disclosure in the newspaper that he was caught
(Sh1,325,180) bribe following a sting operation in January and February.
"We take exception to the frivolous
leveling
of unsubstantiated allegations against our athletes or sports teams," Wario said on Monday.
Wario said there was a staggering difference between exposing wrongdoing and casually engaging in the "wholesale defamation" of a nation’s legacy.
"The latter we will not tolerate. Doping is a crime and Kenya recognises that. But this crime exists at individual level. It is neither a culture within the country, nor is it endemic," he said.
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Wario said
Kenya was "urgently applying'" the full extent of the law to curb the crime with help from the world’s anti-doping authorities.
"It is disheartening that this ill-timed story, whose veracity is dubious, comes just as our Olympians prepare to compete," he said.
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Wario said the Kenyan team trained so hard and endured multiple drug tests for the opportunity to compete on the global arena.
"We are dismayed at efforts to discount their hard work and cast doubt on any accomplishments they achieve," he said.
The CS urged the team which he referred to as clean,
to remain strong, steadfast and undeterred from its ultimate goal.
"As we have said before, they have our unwavering support and, we are sure, the goodwill of many reasonable citizens of the world," he added.
Rotich
had been expected to lead the team at the opening ceremony in Rio on Friday but failed to turn up on the track after being .
The manager reportedly told a Sunday Times reporter he would try to work out the easiest way for athletes to avoid being tested.
He had been offered three monthly payments of £3,000 (Sh397,000).
Several Kenyan athletes have missed international races and the Olympics after failing doping tests in recent months.
,
the government passed an amended anti-doping bill so that the World Anti-Doping Agency could take Kenya off its non-compliant list.
Wada had put Kenya on its non-compliant list as an anti-doping law passed by Parliament was not in line with its own code. The country's reputation has been tarnished by more than 40 doping cases in the last four years.