NAIROBI, Kenya, December 3 – IAAF officials visited Kenya on Tuesday for a meeting with Athletics Kenya (AK) bosses at their Riadha House headquarters with the proposed blood centre in Nairobi being on the agenda
“We don’t want publicity, we will inform people when the center is opened, but for now we are preparing to build the laboratory in the country,” AK boss Isaiah Kiplagat told Capital Sport after the closed door meeting that took hours.
Three officials from the world body who declined to be named visited AK officials after IAAF President, Lamine Diack, pledged to help Kenya and Jamaica, another athletics giant that has come under doping scrutiny in recent times to set up centers that can test urine and blood samples.
The Kenyan Government is also involved in the planned Nairobi enter that will be the second in the continent after South Africa with neighboring nations having an opportunity of accessing the facility.
Over 650 athletes were tested both in and out of competition from Kenya this year with 17 caught after their B samples returned positive.
During the 2013 World Athletics Gala, Diack lambasted the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) for singling out Kenya and Jamaica as nations likely to invite suspension due to inaction against doping while pledging to assist in setting up testing facilities.
It followed a week where Kenya featured prominently in the WADA Congress in South Africa despite the country’s Government unveiling a 12-man committee to investigate all cases recorded since the start of January 2012 and come up with a plan of action against those involved.
The Anti Doping task force has until February to submit the report that will be adopted by the Government.
