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{
    "id": 660601,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/660601/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 127,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "May 31, 2016 SENATE DEBATES 22 Sen. Hassan",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity. Last time we were here with a very clear conscience and passed this Bill to facilitate our athletes to continue with their growing international dominance in sports. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this whole idea about doping and anti-doping is about making the playing field equal. We also need to level the playing field in both politics and sports. It is a betrayal for you to lead the world in a certain arena and to be told you did so through deceit. Today we have Lance Armstrong, a renowned world cycling champion who has seven times dominated the world of cycling. I was actually one of those who celebrated him for his exemplary performance. However, I felt extremely betrayed by the fact that he had improved his performance on account of deceit. It is total disgrace for him. We need fairness in our sports arena. If we must win fair and square, then there must be some fairness. Kenyans are an extremely gifted group of athletes and therefore, we must protect ourselves from people who want to cast aspersions on our victory. We have been winning since time immemorial. As Sen. Cheruiyot said, I read somewhere that Kipchoge Keino won when our nation was basking in the glory of Independence and we hardly knew anything to do with drugs. We must continue to robustly protect the excellence of our athletes in the international arena. If it means making a few concessions to the international bodies, it must not be construed that the mistake of a few people in presenting a Bill that does not meet international threshold was a mistake of this Parliament or a desire of this country to cheat. In fact, the President should ask the person who deceived both Houses of Parliament by bringing a Bill that did not meet international threshold to bear the consequence. This is because the perception was that Kenyans were interested in subverting the international standards so that our performance is based on anything less than the quality of our athletes. People who want to deceive us in terms of athletics are evolving almost on a daily basis. The other day, I read in the media about a young man from the Netherlands who has fitted a motor on the back wheel of his cycle to excel in his performance. Unfortunately, we have now moved a notch higher to “technological doping.” He was using technology to fast-track his performance so that he could win. This is a 19 year old young man. He wanted to lie to the world that he was a successful biker by simply enhancing his performance. Unfortunately, if I relate that kind of deceit to Kenya, it is also something that we locally do. Parents buy their children examination papers to excel in their performance. So, parents also lie to ensure that their children get grade “A” to be admitted to universities only for them to produce substandard professionals in this country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this country must, therefore, take a resolution to gag everybody who tends to corrupt our institutions by all means. This means that those who try to corrupt our sports, including sports administrators, must face the consequences. In addition to this doping legislation, Kenyan sports are poorly managed. One day we do well in cricket, but the next day, we lose. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}