ADAK 2017 ADAK vs John Anzarah Imbaiza - Appeal No 3 of 2017.
ADAK 2017 John Anzarah Imbaiza vs ADAK - Appeal No 6 of 2017.
Mr John Anzarah Imbaiza (John Anzrah) is a Kenyan Sprint Coach (61) participating at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
In August 2016 the Kenyan Athlete Ferguson Rotich was selected at random to be tested in the Olympic Village. Tracking the Athlete’s Accreditation Card the Doping Control Officers (DCOs) found the Kenyan Coach Anzrah in possession of the Athlete’s Accreditation Card and they chaperoned him to the Doping Control Center. There the Coach provided a sample and signed the documents. Meanwhile the Athlete Rotich was called and when he arrived unchaperoned at the Doping Control Center he provided a sample.
As a result the Coach Anzrah was sent home and in August 2016 the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) reported an anti-doping rule violation against him for tampering. ADAK charged the Coach for his intentional interference or attempted interference with the Doping Control and for providing fraudulent information.
In April 2017 the Coach Anzrah filed an appeal with the Judiciary Office of the Kenya Sports Disputes Tribunal requesting to lift the imposed suspension. AKAK hereafter filed a counter appeal charging the Coach with the anti-doping rule violation. The Tribunal consolidated these appeals in one proceeding.
The Coach Anzrah explained that during the Olympic Games in Rio he was forced to stay in a rented house with several other members of the Kenyan delegation under deplorable conditions as the Kenyan team had already exceeded their quota of accreditations for officials inside the Olympic Village. The Athlete Rotich gave his Accreditation Card to the Coach in order to have breakfast in the Olympic Village.
The Coach contended that due to the language barrier he could not explain to the DCOs that he was not the selected Athlete Rotich. He denied the intentional interference with the Doping Control and he acknowledged that he represented himself as the Athlete in order to buy time to have the Athlete informed to report to the Doping Control Station.
Regarding the Coach Anzrah’s suspension the Tribunal holds that time has lapsed and that the suspension already had been served. The served suspension will be taken into account when a sanction is imposed.
The Tribunal concludes that there was a provision of fraudulent information at the Doping Control Station, however it finds this was without intention to interfere with the Doping Control Process. The Tribunal also considers that the Athlete Rotich was already called by the Coach Anzrah to go to the Doping Control Station and he arrived there 15 to 30 minutes after the Coach. The Athlete’s sample was tested and it revealed no prohibited substances.
Therefore the Judiciary Office of the Kenya Sports Disputes Tribunal decides on 12 October 2017 to dismiss the appeal filed by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya.
