by Larry Eder
During a visit to Kenya on 5th March 2025, where he met -in different meetings- with the Kenyan president, H.E. Dr. William Ruto; the CS for Sports, Hon. Salim Mvurya; and the Athletics Kenya president, Gen. Rtd. Jackson Tuwei, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has expressed confidence in Kenya’s anti-doping efforts and commended the Kenyan government’s $5 million investment in the fight.
According to a press release from Kenya’s Sports Ministry, Coe emphasized the country’s significant progress in the fight against doping. This was during a courtesy visit to the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, flanked by Principal Secretary Eng. Peter Tum.
“We wanted to discuss two key areas. One was the ongoing fight in the anti-doping space, which the Kenyan government had been so supportive of all our efforts. And the second key area, and the very prominent challenge, is gender-based violence, not entirely or uniquely linked to sport, but recognizing that we can use sport as a way of raising the profile of this challenge,” said Coe.
Accompanied by Athletics Kenya President, Coe said that the $5 million annual investment has played a crucial role in Kenya’s success. He said that “the funding made available by the Kenyan government has been extremely helpful in this fight,” and that progress has been significant compared to his previous visit two years ago, when Kenya was on the brink of facing sanctions due to rising doping cases.
“I know the Athletic Integrity Unit, which is the independent organization within World Athletics that monitors and conducts all our testing programs, is very satisfied by the progress that is being made,” said Coe, adding that there is now a permanent officer from the Athletics Integrity Unit engaged with Athletics Kenya and the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya, ensuring strong collaboration between the two organizations.
Through the Sports CS, Kenya also expressed their commitment to clean sports. Hon. Mvurya said, “The government of Kenya is committed to ensuring that we continue to strengthen our resolve to have athletes participate in competitions with a lot of integrity.”
“We have remained committed to ensuring that we avail resources every year to strengthen sensitization, testing of athletes, and also to do investigations, as well as making sure that we create awareness for compliance for every athlete.”
CS Mvurya also outlined the steps the Kenyan government is taking to address gender-based violence, including the establishment of a secretariat dedicated to the issue. “The government of Kenya has rolled out gender-based violence efforts in sports, and right now, we have a whole secretariat headed by a CEO who has made a lot of progress,” he said.
After the meeting with the CS for Sports, Coe went to the Kenyan Statehouse and discussed the same issues with the country’s president.
“We continue to work with national and international bodies to address challenges such as doping and gender-based violence. Through sports, we are also driving climate action,” President William Ruto wrote on his social media handle after the meeting.
Coe also visited the Athletics Kenya offices later in the day.
