Rogue athletes put on notice as Ababu takes charge

Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has put rogue athletes and their handlers on notice, telling them that their days are numbered. 

Namwamba made the remarks after being ushered into office by his predecessor Amina Mohamed during a handover ceremony held at the Kenya Library Services Sanaa Centre hall in Nairobi on Friday.

“We want to get down to the doping crisis right away. We have such a fine image as a sporting nation and we can't allow the greed and the misconduct of a few people to destroy this hard-earned image,” Namwamba said.

Namwamba said that stringent measures will be taken against anyone found culpable of destroying the country's rich athletics heritage.

“If you are a doctor out there and you are part of a syndicate that is providing substances to our athletes, I'm on you. If you are an agent, foreign or local, and you are part of this syndicate that is getting us on the brink of being considered for banning, be warned that from this moment your days are numbered.”

He pledged to work with anti-doping agencies including ADAK, AIU and WADA to 'make doping extremely expensive. 

“Among the things we shall be doing in terms of legislative and policy action is to elevate banned substances to the same calibre of hard drugs.

“If you are caught with these substances that some of these people are taking so lightly, we will treat you as a trafficker. You cannot destroy our image as we watch.”

Namwamba said he will build upon the solid foundation established by Amina to steer the country's sports to unprecedented heights.

“I want to continue with the momentum of the mantra you set of putting the athlete at the centre of our action, of our activity, of our planning."

Namwamba said resolving the standoff between the country and the world football governing body, Fifa remains his priority as he embarks on his term.

“We want to immediately get down to dealing with the Fifa imbroglio around FKF. I've been sufficiently briefed by the outgoing CS.  He further called on all the warring federations to put their houses in order.

“I want the sporting federations to know that our conversation is not going to be just about football because several other sports have branded Kenya. Even as we resolve the issues around football, we'll also resolve the issues around badminton, swimming and cycling.”

While highlighting her key achievements in the ministry, outgoing CS Amina Mohamed thanked those who helped her during her tenure.

"At the time I walked in the ministry,  the corridors were lined up with disgruntled athletes including the Paralympics team that struggled to get funding, missed competitions, and got stranded at airports,” Amina said.

“There was dilapidated infrastructure, very few international events hosted in the country, cases of blocked roads, including the Thika Superhighway by protesting sportsmen and women, and some institutions including Kenya Academy of Sports that were present only on paper," she said.

Amina said she had overseen the development of key infrastructure including the construction of sports facilities.

"We have constructed several new stadiums including Kirigiti International Stadium, Kinoru, Chuka, Narok Stadium, and Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu, and upgraded the Nyayo and Moi International Sports Stadiums to make them modern and up-to-standard. This is in addition to the construction of the Jamhuri Sports Ground as a sport and recreational centre."

She said Safari Rally had returned to the World Rally Championships calendar for the first time since 2002 under her watch.

"We also hosted the Kip Keino Classic and other athletics events…we brought cricket back to life and Cricket Kenya has started hosting world events.

"Those who graced the occasion included principal secretaries Joe Okudo (Sports) and Josephta Mukobe (Culture) as well as Sports Registrar Rose Wasike.