A retired athlete and a coach were sentenced by a court to one and a half years and one year in jail, respectively, for fabricating documents to tarnish Kenya’s image as a doping haven.
Elias Kiptum Maindi, a retired athlete, and coach Paul Kibet Simbolei were found guilty of fabricating doping allegations against the county’s top athletes and sharing them with foreign media.
The duo 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, offenses they committed on diverse dates between September 16, 2019, and April 18, 2020.
Kiptum’s co-accused Paul Simbolei who was found guilty of one count of the 13 offenses was acquitted after the court ruled, that he had already served a years prison term during the pre-trial detention.
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 was 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 Kenya competes and wins using performance-enhancing drugs.”
The court found Simbolei guilty of only one count of conspiracy to cause injury.
The court, however, noted that Simbolei has been in custody since he was arraigned, while a misdemeanor carries a maximum of two years.
The court therefore served him for a period of the offense and was released from custody.
Kiptum’s case carried the gravity of the reputational damage to Kenya if indeed the documentary had aired, that he was not suitable for a non-custodial sentence and was sentenced to one and half years and given a right to appeal within 14 days.
