Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said the government is supporting the AntiDoping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) through the Sports Fund, softening the blow of recent budget cuts.
In the 2023/24 financial year, ADAK’s funding was slashed from Sh288 million to Sh20 million, a move that risked pushing Kenya out of compliance with the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA) and into potential suspension.
Speaking during a tour of Athletics Kenya headquarters at Riadha House, Murkomen said ADAK will not be hindered by financial struggles in the future.
“We have set up contingency measures to reinforce ADAK’s budget while awaiting the formal budgeting process,” Murkomen said.
“We have allocated additional resources from the Sports Fund to ensure ADAK operates effectively. The agency will never again face interruptions due to funding issues.”
Murkomen confirmed discussions with the Ministry of Finance and Parliament were underway to increase ADAK’s budget in the next supplementary allocation.
“We are working with the Ministry of Finance and Parliament to enhance their funding in the next supplementary budget,” he said.
He has had fruitful talks with WADA president Witold Banka on Kenya’s progress in fighting doping.
“I had a meeting with the president of WADA and we had discussions about the progress Kenya is making in terms of anti-doping,” he said.
He said a strengthened testing programme with World Athletics is enabling more rigorous athlete monitoring to deter doping.
“The enhanced programme we have with World Athletics is also bearing fruits and we can test more athletes. We hope that through this programme we will be the lead country not only in Africa but also in the world in terms of compliance with WADA,” Murkomen said.
He underlined the ministry’s focus on youth development, revealing plans to expand sports academies across the country, including marginalised regions like the coast and North Eastern.
“Key for us in the ministry is youth grassroots development. We have discussed ways of enhancing youth camps throughout the country,” he said.
“For the last two or three years, as a result of the youth training camps, we have been able to wrestle back some of the sporting disciplines the country had lost.”
He acknowledged the federation’s role in athlete development and Kenya’s international success.
“I am really impressed by the progress AK has made so far. This federation is a very important stakeholder in the Ministry of Sports due to our performance globally,” he said.
Murkomen urged AK to bid for the 2029 World Championships.
“I want to thank the CS for urging us to apply to host the World Championships. We are on the list of applicants,” Tuwei said.
“We hope we will be successful in our bid and be the first African nation to host the games.”
He, however, wants guarantees on finances and infrastructure.
“There are a lot of finances involved in hosting the World Championships. The stadiums have to be up to World Athletics standards,” he said.
"Meanwhile, Kasarani will be ready to host major events from next year," Murkomen said.
“We want to ensure all major
stadiums in the country are ready
to host major events next year."
