The IAAF Ethics Board has banned disgraced athletics Team Kenya manager for Rio 2016 Olympics, Major Michael Rotich, for 10 years on Wednesday.
The retired Major, was also summoned back in 2018 by a Nairobi court as an apparent noose tightened around the doping saga that has marred athletics in Kenya.
In a 12-page ruling sent to newsrooms by the world athletics governing body, Rotich was found guilty of agreeing to provide advance notice of planned doping tests to certain (fictional) athletes in exchange for money.
He was also ordered to pay Ksh. 500,000 to the IAAF in fines with the right to appeal the decision at the Court for Arbitration for Sport within 21 days of the decision.
After reporting in @thesundaytimes and @ARDde @sportschau at 2016 Rio Olympics now IAAF ethics board decision published. Case of Kenyan official Major Rotich, accused of corruption: 10 yrs ban, 5000 USD fine + procedural costs borne by him. https://t.co/hgBTVBEA5b pic.twitter.com/7j2czEtc82
— Hajo Seppelt (@hajoseppelt) May 22, 2019
“The purpose of this agreement was plain: it was to assist those athletes to flush their systems of banned substances before taking doping tests.
“In these circumstances the Panel has concluded that Major Rotich should be banned for 10 years from taking part in any athletics-related activity including holding any relevant office in athletics,” part of the judgment read.
Rotich was filmed in a sting by German TV ARD prior to the Rio Olympics where he told an undercover reporter he could help circumvent anti-doping procedures for cash in a scandal that erupted two days to the start of the 2016 Summer Games.
Ex head of Kenya’s athletics team – Major Michael Rotich – banned from the sport for 10 years after being found to have agreed to provide advance notice of drugs tests to athletes in return for financial gain by an IAAF ethics panel following S Times / ARD 2016 investigation
— Dan Roan (@danroan) May 22, 2019
He was sent home from Brazil soon after by Kenyan authorities after the British newspaper The Sunday Times reported allegations that he agreed to take a 10,000-pound ($13,000) bribe in exchange for helping athletes beat doping tests.