Kenya Sports Minister Hassan Wario said that the presence of government officials in the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya led WADA to "declare the country non-compliant with its code," according to Isaack Omulo of REUTERS. WADA's announcement on Thursday "threw the country's participation in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics into question less than three months before the opening ceremony." Kenya passed an act of parliament in April to criminalize doping, but WADA said that "the country needed to make changes to ensure compliance with the code, which sets a framework for consistent rules and policies around the world." The WADA ruling means Kenya, for decades a "leading power in middle- and long-distance running, could be in danger of exclusion" from the Aug. 5-21 Olympics in Rio. Wario said that the "sticking point was the presence of officials from the Attorney General’s office and the National Treasury on the ADAK board." He said that "this was a requirement under Kenyan law." Wario said that "he was leaving for Canada later on Saturday for a meeting with WADA after Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta asked him and Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed to travel there to resolve the issue." Wario: "We are just going to meet with them and listen to their sentiments and come and implement them because what is important now is not arguing with them or them with us" (REUTERS, 5/14).
