The Rwanda National Olympic and Sports Committee (RNOSC) has issued a warning that athletes risk being suspended from all sports activities in case they fail doping tests. The Olympic Committee’s Medical and Anti-Doping Commission recently unveiled plan to “test many Rwandan athletes” and failure to pass the tests could see a number of them banned from all sports activities either temporarily or indefinitely. Assuman Nuhu, the head of Medical and Anti-Doping Commission at RNOSC, said, “Doping in Rwanda may not have reached such a high level, but some of our players have been suspended for taking drugs and we have been warning players against taking drugs because they play in international competitions.” ALSO READ: Athletics Rwanda to start anti-doping campaign In Rwanda, Nuhu said, the act of testing is normally done only on athletes who participate in international competitions such as the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Tour du Rwanda and Kigali International Peace Marathon among others. This is mainly due to the fact that the cost of testing is high, he said. Testing one athlete costs $1,000 (approximately Rwf1,400,000). Such a sum is at some point high because the tests are sent to external laboratories certified by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). We have been asking for quite some time that our laboratories be allowed to carry out drug tests, but now we are not allowed. We talked to the Ministry of Sports and those responsible so that, while we are waiting, we would take as many tests as possible where, starting this year, we are going to test the players of different sports,” Nuhu said. ALSO READ: EDITORIAL: Local athletes should be aware of doping issues What is doping and why is it important? Basically, doping refers to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, that are forbidden by the organisations that regulate competitions. There are several doping drugs classified by WADA for all federations to know, and the most common are stimulants and hormones. Doping is a major challenge to sports worldwide, as it not only threatens the integrity of sports but also puts the athletes’ health at risk. Athletes are solely responsible for any prohibited substances found in their system despite whether there is an intention to cheat or not. The use of drugs by athletes to enhance their performance is considered unethical and is prohibited. Nuhu stressed the importance of doping tests, saying that they are crucial in ensuring fair competition and preventing cheating among athletes in various sports disciplines. He cautioned athletes from using prohibited substances that can lead to anti-doping violation. ALSO READ: Kajuga's doping case a big lesson for Rwanda “Doping tests are crucial in ensuring fair competition and preventing cheating among athletes in various sports disciplines and athletes from using prohibited substances that can lead to anti-doping violation,” Nuhu said. A number of Rwandan athletes previously served doping sanctions and were suspended from different sports activities after failing drug tests. In 2016, long-distance runner Robert Kajuga was handed a four-year ban by the Regional Anti-Doping Agency (RADO) for evading an out of competition drug test.
