Ababu Namwamba, the Sports Cabinet Secretary, was fervent in his appeal to the Judiciary, under the leadership of Chief Justice Martha Koome, to take swift and strong action against cartels that undermine the rule of law in athletics.
He firmly believed that these cartels posed a severe threat to the good governance of sports in the country.
During an interview with Kenyans at his office in Nairobi, the Sports CS pointed out that the Judiciary played a vital role in prosecuting and convicting doping agents, who had caused chaos in the ministry before he was appointed to the Cabinet.
He implored the Chief Justice to consider setting aside Magistrate Courts to deal with these cases and emphasized the need for prosecutors and judicial officers to be involved.
He explained that having special courts for doping cases, similar to those for corruption or terrorism cases, would aid in ensuring efficient and effective handling of these cases.
Namwamba, being a lawyer himself, welcomed constructive criticism from politicians regarding doping cartels.
He revealed that coordinating multi-agencies to tackle doping was one of the most significant challenges he faced when he assumed office.
As such, he spearheaded the creation of a multi-unit agency that included the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya, Athletics Kenya, the Athletics Integrity Unit, and the Directorate of Criminal Investigation.
The goal was to crack down on serial offenders and prevent doping agents from wreaking havoc on the sports sector.
He stressed the importance of allocating necessary resources to achieve objectives, adding that they had committed Ksh700 million annually to facilitate the multi-agency team’s work.
He acknowledged that this team would undoubtedly face opposition from those who benefit from the status quo, but he had confidence in the experts involved.
Namwamba vowed to bring in new talents and technocrats from various fields to combat impunity in sports and uphold the rule of law.
He affirmed that he was not going to let these cartels continue to have their way and thanked the Chief Justice for her continued support.
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/92409-cs-ababu-reaches-out-cj-koome-fight-against-cartels
by: Mascherano