Gaborone — A case in which four athletes Refilwe Murangi, Zibani Ngozi, Karabo Mothibi and Lydia Jele are questioning the credibility and authenticity of their positive doping results will return to court on April 20 for a further status hearing.
Tshepang Makwati, representing the quartet, said they had previously approached the court demanding direct access to Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS).
He said they were pleading to be allowed to have their own credentials, a username and password to access the system.
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He explained that during earlier engagements, the respondents only allowed them to view the system on their laptops.
“That is not what the system is about. It is about being given proper access,” Makwati said.
He added that both parties were now on the same page and would return to court on April 20 to provide an update on progress.
Pako Moakofi, a legal representative of the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) and the National Anti-Doping Organisation said they opposed the application field by the athletes.
Already, he said they had made the ADAMS available to the athletes. He said they had never denied them access. He said the matter had been postponed to April 20 to give the athletes ample time to review the system.
Moakofi explained that ADAMS belonged to the World Anti-Doping Agency, but in the interim, they would facilitate the issuance of credentials to allow the athletes to access the system and verify their results.
In October, BNOC released a statement indicating that Mothibi and Ngozi had been provisionally suspended following positive doping control test results.
Mothibi tested positive for stanozolol and oxymetholone, while Ngozi tested positive for norandrosterone and methylhexaneamine.
Murangi was handed a three-year ban after testing positive for furosemide, a diuretic masking agent, and oxymetholone, an anabolic androgenic steroid, while Jele was suspended for eight years after testing positive for stanozolol, a prohibited substance.
BOPA