Kenya removed from World Anti-Doping Agency watchlist after 2 years
By Nancy Marende, March 5, 2026Kenya has been officially removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) compliance watchlist, ending a two-year period of scrutiny.
In a statement on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, Salim Mvurya, said the removal follows the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) fully aligning with the World Anti-Doping Code and international standards.
“The Government of Kenya welcomes and notes with great satisfaction the decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to formally close the compliance procedure concerning Kenya and remove the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) from the compliance ‘watchlist’.”
“Following the audit conducted in May 2024, Kenya swiftly implemented a comprehensive corrective action plan. This strengthened governance, enhanced operational independence, improved results management, reinforced intelligence and investigations capacity, and streamlined the management of athlete whereabouts systems.”
Further, Mvurya has revealed that the corrective measures successfully addressed concerns raised by WADA, which had placed Kenya on the compliance watchlist due to governance and operational shortcomings. Mvurya noted that during the review period, Kenya faced no formal sanctions.
“The removal of Kenya from the watchlist sends a clear message to the global sporting community: Kenya is committed to clean sport, institutional accountability, and international cooperation,” he said.
Further, the CS thanked ADAK, intelligence teams, and all stakeholders who contributed to the reforms, emphasising that compliance with global anti-doping standards remains a continuous obligation.
“While we celebrate this milestone, we remain fully aware that compliance with the global anti-doping framework is a continuous obligation. WADA retains the mandate to monitor signatories under its ongoing compliance oversight system, and Kenya welcomes this oversight as a necessary mechanism that strengthens credibility, transparency, and trust in sport.”