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"content": "When this Bill came to this House, you may recall that I sounded a caution that there were some clauses that were going to create problems. Since we were in a hurry to legislate, because we were told it was important, it has gone full cycle and come back to where we were. If we had agreed at that time to marshal and move amendments on this Floor, the least we could have had was to go to mediation with the National Assembly. It probably would have cost us a week or two and would not have cost the country millions of shillings for three Cabinet Secretaries and an entourage of an uncountable people - some who were going to do nothing - going all the way to Canada, ostensibly to convince WADA that we are going to amend the Bill we would have done rightly in the first place. Now that we are there, I discussed with my distinguished colleague, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, and I want to appreciate his level of decorum and respect for others. I cannot say the same of his deputy. This Bill now comes to the Floor for us to relook at some clauses. I want to encourage Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, that now that it has come back to us in a fashion acceptable to the international arena, we still must tighten several nuts and bolts that might take away an opportunity that will hurt young athletes, who are quite often victims of agents, who recruit them from primary schools and literally turn them into guinea pigs. When they see these youths slowing down, either because the season is bad or due to fatigue, they encourage them to take enhancement drugs so that they continue winning and the agents earn even more money than our athletes. I want to urge Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki to address the definition of trafficking which is on page 4. It says: “Trafficking means selling, giving, transporting, sending, delivering, distributing, or possession for any such purpose, a prohibited substance or prohibited method, either physically or by any electronic or other means by an athlete”. Even at the level of common English, the descriptions there do not amount to trafficking, because to traffic is to move. You traffic something when you cause it in motion. When you say possessing is trafficking, then I have difficulties, but I can live with that. The devil is further on, where it says: “An athlete support person or any other person, subject to the jurisdiction of an anti-doping organisation to any third party.” An athlete’s support person could be your wife, husband, child; anybody you live with or travel with. Unless we define what an “athlete support person” is, we will end up having some of these prohibited drugs even planted or maliciously given to people to carry. You can travel to Canada with a support person who can be given a parcel to carry without you knowing what it is, but you end up in a trap because he is your support person. I want to ask my brother, Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki to ask the Ministry to ask WADA what they mean by an athlete support person, because we will end up having our young athletes having serious problems because the law is not clear. In ordinary criminal law, we often have a clause called “knowing or having reason to know”. Where you have no knowledge or no reason to know, then you are caught up in a web. But where you have no knowledge or reason to know, then you are caught up in a web or a trap that can easily be--- I heard the Senate Majority Leader moving the Bill. He was talking of the attention to Kenya because of our prowess and distinguished performance where our athletes go to any international event and the day is bright. Kenyans have been known to 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"
}