Olympics-Doping-Kenyan coach sent home from Rio may face criminal charges

By Isaack Omulo NAIROBI, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The Kenyan sprint coach sent home from the Rio Games after posing as an athlete in a dope test faces possible criminal charges, head of Kenya's mission to Rio Games said on Friday. Stephen Soi said sprint coach John Anzrah committed violations by impersonating an athlete, producing a urine sample and signing documents in the name of an athlete. "The problem with John Anzrah is he, without authority, took possession of an identity card of an athlete on the list of WADA for an out of competition dope testing. "He went to the dining hall using it purporting to be Ferguson Rotich and, unfortunately, he was caught and taken to doping control centre where he not only produced samples but also signed documents. "These are crimes against our country because he impersonated an athlete, went ahead to produce samples and had documents signed as Ferguson," said Soi, who is a senior police officer attached to Kenya's elite para-military General Service Unit in Rio. The International Olympic Committee is also investigating the matter and has set up a disciplinary commission to investigate the incident. Kipchoge Keino, chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K), said they will not tolerate such behaviour, adding that NOC-K did not facilitate Anzrah's travel to Rio and do not know how he got there. A senior Athletics Kenya (AK) official later claimed that Anzrah used Rotich's accreditation pass to obtain meals, only to come across a dope-testing official who was looking for Rotich for an out-competition dope test. Fearing he would be exposed, the coach played along, the AK official said. Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto also warned athletes and administrators that serious consequences await anyone involved in doping. "One sports administrator has been sent back home and is now in incarceration. We have made sure that every law to protect the status of our country is applied," Ruto told Kenyan media in Rio. "Anybody found on the wrong side of the law here will face the full force of the law. That must be understood clearly by all sports administrators, sportsmen and every other person in between," said Ruto. Last week, Kenya sent their track and field manager Michael Rotich home from the Games following allegations that he requested money to let undercover journalists, posing as athlete representatives, know when drugs testers would come calling. Rotich denied the accusations but was arrested on his return to Nairobi, where a judge ordered the police to hold him for four weeks during the doping probe. The east African nation boasts some of the world's best middle and distance runners, but more than 40 Kenyans have failed drug tests since 2012 and its athletics federation has been mired in corruption scandals linked to doping. The situation led World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to threaten to bar Kenya from Rio before Parliament moved to fast-track legislation that criminalised doping in June. (Reporting by Isaack Omulo, editing by Neil Robinson)