Kenyan football, athletics served government notice

Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Arts and Culture Hassan Wario has warned Athletics Kenya and Football Kenya Federation to clean up their act or face disbandment in the course of the year.

In his most scathing attack yet on the two giant federations at the Sports Personality of the Year (Soya) Awards gala in Nairobi on Friday night, Wario thundered "this is the year of the red card" in reference to the wrangle riddled governing bodies.

Wario started his diatribe with AK whose president, Isaiah Kiplagat, for complicity on the doping issue and management wrangles that have torn the federation into two.

"We established an Anti-Doping Taskforce that AK did not bother to show up. The case of Rita Jeptoo has placed us in the category of hall of shame, not hall of fame. We will deal decisively with them. We can't continue like this," Wario underscored.

He said the revelation that Boston and Chicago marathon Champion Rita Jeptoo had doped left him gutted.

"I was attending a sports symposium in Doha, Qatar when the news came in. I felt cheated because I was in Boston clapping when Rita closed the line as champion. Was I celebrating a cheat?" wondered Wario.

Paul Tergat, the former World Marathon Record holder said as a member of International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, he is at pains to explain Kenya's position on doping as bigger names get caught for cheating.

"It is the worst thing for a sportsman to do. You cheat to gain wrongfully. We want clean sport and athletes must raise above these temptation and trust their talent to carry them through," said Tergat.

"It is a waste of talent for search of quick money. This is the last straw and I condemn it."

Wario took the war to AK as he took chairman Kiplagat to task asking where he was when the whole saga started and why they have failed to curb its spread.

"I thought Kiplagat should have been the first person to resign. Where was he when all this started? When did the rain start beating us? AK has refused to partner with us on doping and we will crack the whip soon.

"It is time for action and Kiplagat must realize that we will no longer look without acting," said Wario.

Kenya is setting up an Anti-Doping center in Nairobi in collaboration with China Anti-Doping Agency and Norway.

"These are credible Anti-doping organizations and even WADA is supporting our initiative. But Athletics Kenya refused to work with us when he formed the ministerial anti-doping committee. What did they know and what are they hiding. We will kick them out," said Wario.

Athletics Kenya is currently involved in leadership wrangles as official accuse Kiplagat of failing to act.

Jeptoo, the winner of the 2013 and 2014 Boston and Chicago Marathons, tested positive after an out-of-competition test in September 2014 and since then no one has been screaming her innocence.

Wario said Kenya's anti-doping agency will be operational in a few weeks time and called on Kenyan sportsmen and women to compete fairly.

On Thursday, she appeared for two hours at a hearing with Athletics Kenya officials in Nairobi but no decision was reached regarding the length of her ban from competition and which of her marathon titles she will forfeit.

After 12 hours of closed-door testimonies and deliberations, Athletics Kenya medical commission member and chief executive Isaac Mwangi commented that Jeptoo's case would be continued "because there is a lot of information that has come about through the hearing and we have to go back and consult." Another hearing will be held in two weeks.

He also said that AK would consult with the International Association of Athletics Federation regarding whether Jeptoo should be subject to a two-year minimum ban, which was in effect at the time of her test, or a new mandated four-year ban in effect since Jan. 1.

The only one of her four consecutive marathon titles earned subsequent to her drug test was October's 2014 Chicago Marathon, but Jeptoo's estranged husband, Noah Busienei, has asserted that she began using performance-enhancing drugs in 2011.

The October 31, 2014 announcement of Jeptoo's positive "A" test led to the cancellation of a November 2014 ceremony in New York City to honor her as the 2013/2014 World Marathon Majors women's winner, a title that comes with a 500,000 U.S dollars pay cheque.

On football, the minister said the government was not afraid of being banned to salvage the nation from a crisis-ridden FKF.

"What these leaders don't understand is they run the sport on behalf of the sportspersons taking part in that federation and if they fail, we can get people who can do that work better," Wario said.

He underscored he had spent the two years of his tenure studying local federations and "The common string cutting across them is mismanagement."

Wario revealed the government would soon involve the country's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to probe financial dealings in football and athletics. Endi