The stringent measures put in place by Athletics Kenya (AK) to deter doping among local athletes could not have come at a better time.
On Saturday, AK announced it will no longer clear athletes who have ever been suspended for doping to compete for the country.
It might also withdraw the passports of those sanctioned for use of banned substances, said AK President Jack Tuwei, while the employment contracts of drug cheats who are in the disciplined forces will be terminated.
Coming after the Athletics Integrity Unit named two more Kenyans — Alex Korio Oloitiptip and Mikel Kiprotich Mutai — as having been suspended for doping, the measures promise to root out the menace.
They would keep Kenyan athletes on the straight and narrow as they compete.
Kenya boasts a record of excellence in athletics and is a sporting powerhouse, thanks to its dominance in the middle- and long-distance races.
But with about 50 of its athletes sanctioned by local and international agencies in the past year for doping, it remains firmly on the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) watchlist.
Local agencies now ought to enforce national laws that criminalise doping. The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak) should crack down on dopers for a drug-free environment in which athletes compete clean and win fair.
AK should also ban unauthorised individuals from local training camps as a way of protecting young athletes.
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