Man charged with defrauding athlete by pretending to be Anti-doping agent
Thomas Kipyatich alias Ali Thamer Kamal while appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Richard Odenyo/Photo Faith Chepkemoi
By James Gitaka
A man accused of eight counts of impersonating and obtaining by false
pretense has been released on bond after denying the charges read out
to him in an Eldoret Court.
Thomas Kipyatich alias Ali Thamer Kamal while appearing before Senior
Principal Magistrate Richard Odenyo, denied the charges of falsely
presenting himself to two-time Paris Marathon champion Paul Lonyangata
as an officer from the Anti-doping Agency.
According to the charge sheet, Kipyatich with others not before the
court is said to have falsely presented himself to the top athlete as
an anti-doping officer with intent to defraud him, on diverse dates
between September and October 2021 in Eldoret Town, Uasin Gishu
County.
Kipyatich is also said to have defrauded Lonyangata sh 546, 700 on
diverse dates in October 2021, by falsely pretending that he was an
employee of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya and that he would assist
him terminate his Anti-Doping Rule Violation.
On October 26, 2021 alone, the accused is said to have obtained half a
million shillings from the athlete in the hope that he would help the
champion terminate his anti-doping rule violation.
Kipyatich denied all the eight counts read to him and was released on
sh 100, 000 cash bail with an alternative sh 200,000 bond with a
similar surety.
The long distance runner was among four Kenyans, who were flagged down
by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in February.
AIU suspended Lonyangata on January 24 before eventually handing him a
19-month ban (until May 25, 2023) after the athlete who won the Paris
marathon in 2017 and 2018 and finished third in 2019 admitted to using
a prohibited drug, Furosemide.
Furosemide belongs to a group of medicines called loop diuretics (also
known as water pills) and is prescribed to help treat fluid retention
(edema) and swelling that is caused by congestive heart failure, liver
disease, kidney disease, or other medical conditions.
The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) however, includes Furosemide in
the list of prohibited substances since it is said to be used by
athletes to mask the presence of performance-enhancing drugs in urine
or excrete water for rapid weight loss.
The Magistrate directed that the case be mentioned on December 5 to
determine a hearing date.
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