Keino, a two-time Olympic champion, is now the head of the Kenyan Olympic committee.
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Dozens of Kenyan runners have been caught doping in the past few years, tarnishing the reputation of the east African country famed for its middle and long-distance runners.
The Cabinet said the agency will “advise the government on all relevant matters pertaining to anti-doping and cooperation with the Regional Anti-Doping Organization (RADO), World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and any other anti-doping organization in carrying out anti-doping activities in Kenya”.
Kenya’s new agency will carry out testing and ensure compliance with doping rules, a statement said.
“I have tried to reach government officials to agree on how to act but I don’t get appointments. I make calls that are unanswered”, Keino told Reuters.
They were the latest in a surge of doping cases involving athletes from Kenya, which topped the medals table in Beijing.
This week, WADA warned that Kenya still hadn’t done enough to combat doping and again urged the government to set up an effective anti-doping body. “Anything else is just sugar coating”, he added.
“In athletics there are a handful of countries who do not have robust anti-doping regimes, who are asleep on the job – whether by accident or criminality — and they have to be rooted out”, he said. “We must take action now or we shall not be welcome in global games”. “Who administered this to the athletes?”
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It is estimated that more than 35 Kenyan runners have failed drugs tests in the last three years, including Rita Jeptoo, victor of the Boston and Chicago Marathons.
