Kenya has been removed from world anti-doping compliance watch list, marking a significant step in the country’s journey towards restoring credibility in athletics and developing the capacity to fight the use of banned substances in sports.
On Saturday, the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK), the body charged with protecting clean athletes and promoting fair play in sports locally, announced that the country has been removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) watch list, having met all the requirements stipulated by the global body.
“I’m pleased to officially announce that the compliance procedure concerning Kenya has now been formally closed by Wada. Acting on the recommendation of its Compliance Review Committee, Wada has confirmed the removal of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya from the compliance watch list,” Major General (retired) Alphazard Muthuri, who is a member of Adak’s board, said in Mombasa at the weekend.
“This (Adak’s removal from Wada’s watch list) marks the successful conclusion of the corrective process, and this decision affirms that Kenya’s National Anti-Doping Organisation is fully aligned with the Wada Code and the applicable international standards,” Muthuri said.
He was speaking on Saturday during Sports Journalists Association of Kenya workshop in Mombasa on Saturday.
Established in 1999, Wada is an international independent agency composed and funded equally by the sport movement and governments of the world. Its key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the Wada Code. Wada works towards a vision of a world where all athletes compete in a doping-free sporting environment. Wada leads a collaborative worldwide campaign for doping-free sport, and Adak is its local agency.
“Let me be clear, this is not merely an administrative milestone, but it is a powerful statement to the global sporting community that Kenya remains steadfast in its commitment to clean sport, institutional accountability, and international cooperation,” Muthuri added.
During the workshop, journalists were trained on anti-doping rules.
In September 2025, Wada warned Adak of serious consequences unless Kenya addressed 35 critical requirements following an audit carried out in May 2025. At the time, Kenya was non-compliant with Wada Code, the document harmonising anti-doping policies in all sports and all countries. On October 30, 2025, Wada put Kenya on its watch list.
“By going into the watch list from non-compliance means that we are going to ensure everything gets implemented, and we are going to see what they do for six months now watching closely,” Wada’s Director General, Olivier Nigli, said on October 30 after Kenya was removed from the list of non-compliant countries and placed in Wada’s watch list.
Kenya was due to get a review of its progress in implementing Wada Code yesterday, but Saturday’s announcement means that the country has made a significant step in the journey towards restoring credibility in athletics globally and developing the capacity to fight the use of banned substances in sports.
Corrective mechanisms proposed by Wada in September included budgetary allocation for Adak by the government, hiring of requisite human resource, institutionalisation of test and distribution plan, putting in place a registered testing pool, and provisional suspension and the whereabouts failure management. Wada did not make public the other requirements.
Anxiety has been building up in the local athletics fraternity, given Kenya’s global stature in distance running and the consequences that could follow should Kenya be declared non-compliant.
Adak’s Acting Director of Standards and Compliance, Dr Martin Yauma, said the agency has been hand in hand with Wada on areas that the global body had identified for corrective measures.
“As an agency, we have had four months of taking action on corrective issues and the majority of things that Wada had identified,” said Yauma.
He said Adak had done everything to ensure anti-doping messages reach as many people as possible, and to create awareness on the need for athletes to play clean and compete fair.
“We have gone down all the way to the grassroots because we want to reach upcoming athletes, as well as the international runners,” he said.
National Olympics Committee of Kenya’s First Vice President Barnaba Korir said factual reporting by the media can help fight the doping menace through educating members of the public. SJAK President James Waindi urged journalists to be factual in their reports. Also present at the workshop was Adak’s Acting CEO, Peninah Wahome.
