Let’s examine all avenues, including taking athletes’ confessions, to exorcise doping ghost

Excuse me for revisiting the issue of doping for the umpteenth time.

Simply because this is a menace we can’t just sweep under the carpet, and its time we took the bull by the horns.

Last weekend, Athletics Kenya (AK) President Jack Tuwei announced several measures the association was considering necessary to rein in drug cheats.

As the use of banned performance-enhancing substances continues to ruin Kenya’s enviable athletics tradition, AK officials are considering barring athletes suspended for doping offences from competing locally and internationally, even after completing their bans.

Tuwei said the federation is also in talks with immigration authorities to explore the possibility of – with legal justification – nullifying passports of drug cheats.

Testing protocols within the military and other disciplined forces are also being tailored-made, with the summary dismissal of men and women in uniform caught doping very much on the table. There has been a mixed reception to these proposals, with some quarters criticising them as draconian.

However, support for AK’s intended action has been applauded by a good number of stakeholders, including athletes themselves, as the only way to deter Kenyan drug cheats who continue to increase by the month.

Separately, there has been another great proposal by marathon legend Moses Tanui.

The first man to run the half marathon in under one hour, Tanui, 54, who is also the 1991 World Championships 10,000 metres gold medallist, feels there must be serious soul-searching within the athletes themselves.

Tanui, twice winner at the Boston Marathon, proposes a forum where athletes would assemble, frankly discuss the doping problem among themselves and even take personal confessions.

At these forums, the athletes will be at liberty to disclose names of coaches, agents or pharmacists, etc, who may have administered to them banned performance enhancing substances.

“This is the time to put our minds together and think about the future,” Tanui told me in a frank chat on Monday.

“We need to come together as athletes and chart the way forward. We should allow athletes who have doped to make confessions, and even disclose who has been giving them drugs. It’s obvious that one cannot be injected unknowingly or unwillingly. This problem is with the athletes themselves.

“Athletes need to know that doping also has serious negative long-term effects on their bodies. We need to advise them to simply train hard, like we did during our days, and win clean,” the legend adds.

Tanui’s wise proposal rekindles memories of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Established by President Nelson Mandela’s fresh administration in 1995, the TRC’s purpose was to trigger reconciliation by helping uncover bitter truths on massive violations of human rights by the apartheid regime.

Chaired by revered, Nobel Prize-winning Anglican cleric Archbishop Desmond Tutu, assisted by fellow anti-apartheid activist Alex Boraine, the TRC held its first public hearing between April 15 and 18, 1996, in East London, South Africa.

And by the time commissioners concluded the exercise seven years later, the TRC had received over 22,000 statements from victims, held numerous open, transparent hearings and granted over 1,500 amnesties for crimes committed during the infamous apartheid era that lasted over 300 years.

This helped a great deal in healing the “Rainbow nation.”

Closer home, there was a similar effort to address historical injustices – including crimes committed during the 2007-08 post-election violence – through the formation of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya (TJRC) following the 2008 National Accord.

While the jury is still out on whether or not the TJRC achieved its primary goals, having presented its final report to President Uhuru Kenyatta seven years ago on May 3, 2013, both the Kenyan and South African commissions were crucial in allowing for frank, open discussions on a dark past.

Giving athletes similar forums where they can openly and fearlessly discuss issues that directly affect them could be the first major step towards creating a clean sport.

We should not wait for the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), World Anti-doping Agency (Wada) or other external agencies to do our internal housekeeping.

Soul-searching must start from within, and that’s why Tanui’s proposal holds water and should be considered even as stringent measures are put in place to tame drug cheats.

Amnesty for self-confessed offenders will encourage them to contribute towards creating a level playing field that will further boost Kenya’s enviable reputation as the world’s leading nation in distance running.

Meanwhile, elite and upcoming athletes should also be encouraged to take advantage of AK’s pool of half a dozen registered doctors – operating under the Kenya Doctors Network – for advice on medication whenever they fall ill or sustain injuries.

This will eliminate widespread cases of athletes turning to quacks who, in turn, knowingly or unknowingly administer medication that’s on Wada’s list of banned substances.

For ease of reference, these doctors (whose contacts can be found at AK), and their locations, are: Barnabas Bargoria (Nairobi and Eldoret), David W. Muhindi (Nairobi), Frederick Kipkorir Kirui (Kericho), Muithya Ngundo (Nairobi), Wycliffe Kosgei Kipkurui (Eldoret) and Castro Mugalla (Iten).

These doctors can competently handle afflictions the athletes complain of, or make informed referrals including offering advise on applications for Therapeutic Use Exemption in reasonable cases, in accordance with Wada’s provisions.

We should join AK and all other relevant authorities in sealing all loopholes in the doping menace, lest we go the Russian way and suffer the humiliation of a blanket ban from all global competitions, including village runs.

Tanui’s proposal, therefore, ought to be given a serious consideration as we wrestle with this increasingly irksome problem.

Makori is the Editor (Sports) at Nation Media Group. [email protected]