Retired Athlete Kiptum, Coach Kibet Jailed For Doping Forgery
Elias Kiptum, a retired athlete, and coach Paul Kibet Simbolei were Tuesday sentenced by a Jomo Kenyatta International Airport court to one-and-half years and one year in jail, respectively, for developing false doping allegations against Kenyan athletes.
The two were arrested in 2021 by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and were last month found guilty of being part of an international conspiracy ring, out to tarnish Kenya’s athletics image.
Kiptum and Simbolei had prepared documents purporting that doping was being promoted and encouraged by several state agencies in the country, to have Kenya suspended from participating in the Olympics.
The offenses were said to have been committed on diverse dates between September 16, 2019, and April 18, 2020.
The court however released Simbolei after it ruled he had already served a two-year prison term during the pre-trial detention. The court found Simbolei guilty of only one count of conspiracy to cause injury.
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In a judgment rendered by Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku last month, the court ruled that the prosecution had adduced adequate evidence and proved beyond reasonable doubt that Kibet and Kiptum conspired to forge information on doping in athletics to tarnish Kenya’s image in the athletics world.
The duo had initially arraigned in court alongside John Katio Maluni who passed on through a road accident while the trial was ongoing.
In her ruling, the judge said; “It is important to set records straight, Kenya has never had state-sponsored doping. That was the picture two intended to portray the sports sport.
“The pieces of the puzzle put together during the trials of Elias and Paul together with the help from influential and powerful people outside Kenya’s borders attempted to present evidence that the government-sponsored doping. The intention is that Kenya competes and wins using performance-enhancing drugs.”
Kiptum has 14 days to appeal the ruling.
Retired Athlete Kiptum, Coach Kibet Jailed For Doping Forgery