Wada president says Kenya must be ‘clean’ as Nairobi prepares for 2029 World Championships
Witold Banka, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), said Kenya must be "clean" to be credible at the end of a three-day visit to Nairobi as the country prepares to stage the 2029 World Athletics Championships. He added that rising positive tests are a sign the system is working and called for law enforcement support to go after criminals supplying athletes.
Banka held talks with President William Ruto, government and sports officials, the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak), athletes and representatives of law enforcement during the visit, which Wada said was intended to build on recent progress in Kenya's anti-doping programme. Kenya was awarded the 2029 championships in September, making it the first African country selected to host the event, a decision that has increased scrutiny of efforts to tackle a long-running doping problem. More than 140 Kenyan athletes, predominantly distance runners, have been suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit since 2017. The Polish former sports minister said he had received a clear commitment from Ruto's government to a policy of zero tolerance towards doping but warned promises would have to be matched by results.
"Kenya calls itself probably 'home of champions', but every home has to have a good host and has to be clean to be credible," Banka told the BBC. "We absolutely need to instill the culture of clean sport." He said Wada would monitor developments and that public commitments must lead to tangible action: "Wada will monitor this situation and observe the dynamic. Action speaks louder than words."
Banka highlighted implementation and testing as central challenges, saying: "The problem with anti-doping is not with rules and standards," and adding, "The problem is with implementation." He discussed strengthening an independent Adak and ensuring it has sufficient government support as part of that implementation drive.
On laboratory capacity, Banka noted that Africa currently has no Wada-accredited doping control laboratory after the facility in Bloemfontein was initially suspended in March 2024 and had its accreditation formally revoked in May 2025. He said Kenya had shown political interest in establishing its own laboratory but cautioned that accreditation can take years because "the consequences of laboratory error can be enormous for an athlete," stressing that strengthening the broader testing system is a more immediate priority than relying on a new lab.
Rejecting the notion that doping is solely a Kenyan or African problem, Banka said: "Doping has no colours and flags," citing cases in the United States, Germany and his native Poland. He added that Wada can investigate sport but cannot dismantle criminal supply networks: "We are not a superpower. We are not law enforcement," and "They have tools to really go after those who are destroying the credibility of the sport and the country." He said intelligence indicated performance-enhancing drugs were being produced in Kenya and described Africa as a significant market, warning that athletes are often the "weakest points in the ecosystem" and that anti-doping authorities need to pursue coaches, doctors, managers and suppliers because some athletes are being exploited by people "who have money, who have power" and see them as a route to profit.
As a recent example of enforcement action, the Athletics Integrity Unit handed former half-marathon world record holder Kibiwott Kandie a seven-year ban for anti-doping violations, underscoring the sanctions already being applied to athletes.
Banka said Wada will continue to observe Kenya's progress and that concrete improvements in testing, enforcement and the independence of Adak are required ahead of Nairobi's staging of the 2029 World Athletics Championships. "Wada will monitor this situation and observe the dynamic. Action speaks louder than words," he said.