• Tuwei emphasized that the federation is investigating the root causes of age fraud and is committed to resolving the issue.
• The crackdown begins with the World U20 Championship team to ensure only eligible athletes compete in the global show.
Image: TEDDY MULEI
Athletics Kenya (AK) have uncovered discrepancies in the ages of 26 athletes.
AK president Jack Tuwei revealed: “We have discovered 26 athletes have amended their documents to show different ages,” Tuwei stated.
However, investigations into the matter are still ongoing. “Our investigations are ongoing and we will have a detailed statement once we conclude,” Tuwei said.
He said the federation is also investigating the root causes of age fraud and they are committed to resolving the issue.
“We want to find out what the problem is; where the issue is emanating from and how we will handle it,” he noted.
The federation has launched a thorough review of athletes’ documents dating back to 2016. “It will require a lot of detailed investigation to find out which documents have been forged,” he said.
“We are starting investigations from 2016 to check all athletes’ documents as well as updating our database to get athletes information from primary school to when the athlete retires,” he added.
He warned of severe sanctions for those found guilty irrespective of whether they are still active or have retired. “If discrepancies are discovered, there will be consequences.”
The crackdown begins with the World U20 Championship team to ensure only eligible athletes compete in the global show.
“We cannot take the team for the World U20 championships without going through and certifying their documents,” Tuwei said.
AK held the World U20 trials last week with 19 athletes booking tickets to represent the country in Lima, Peru, from August 27-31.
Tuwei urged parents and teachers to submit accurate documents for young athletes to the federation.
“For the school-going athletes, the U20 and U18 and the school children, We are calling on the parents and teachers from the relevant institutions to ensure documents submitted to the federation are accurate,” he said.
He also called for government intervention to prevent the forgery of official documents.
“Most of these documents which are forged are official government documents; birth certificates and school leaving certificates.”
“The government agencies need to step in and ensure the documents issued are official and not forgeries to curb this menace,” he added.
The age-cheating issue further complicates the nation’s stance globally with the federation already battling doping.
“This is a very serious issue because we are already crippled by the menace of doping in the country,” said Tuwei.
Kenya is placed in category ‘A’ – nations deemed to have the highest risk of doping – by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).