When Mwangi Muthee resigned as the chairman of the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU), Kenyans were worried of the direction that the game was taking with many saying that it will follow the footsteps of football in the country. Soon Gabriel Ouko was named as the interim chairman.
As the hunt for the chairman intensified, a special AGM was held to elect new leaders, despite the interim chairman obtaining court orders to stop the AGM from taking place. Sponsors became worried. The next rumours that wafted across social media were that sponsors were pulling out of the national team.
On Tuesday the official AGM was held and Richard Omwela was elected the new chairman, beating the interim boss by seven votes. Omwela finds a full in-tray with a pending court case and ability to keep sponsors who have given KRU ultimatum to keep its house in order.
“My first duty will be to bring back sanity that used to prevail in the house and clean it from the dirt that has threatened to destroy the game,” said Omwela after winning the elections. “As the chairman it’s my mandate to dig into the problems and come up with amicable solutions because we want to play rugby at the end of the day and not fight over issues that can be solved without raising unnecessary alarm.”
The chairman was speaking on Thursday when Kenya Sevens head coach Felix Ochieng named his squad that will hoist the country’s flag in the oncoming Hong Kong and Japan Sevens World Series.
“As part of developing the team for future tournaments, I will be initiating a country programme where the teams taking part at the grassroots can meet the standards needed in the national team,” noted the 59-year-old lawyer.
One of the daunting task awaiting Omwela is to continue what his predecessor Mwangi Muthee did. Muthee expanded the game by initiating programmes that targeted teams outside Nairobi. Notably is the Nakuru-based team which joined the top tier rugby grid, winning Kenya Cup twice while newcomers Kabras shocked many rugby fans by finishing as the runners-up this season.
“We want to continue devolving rugby even to the lowest levels in the county and ensure that the teams taking part in such tournaments can have players selected for the national team,” noted Omwela. During his earlier stint at the Union, Omwela brought in SuperSport as the official broadcasting partner before Muthee replaced it with Zuku. His second spell will be a tough one, inheriting an brimming in-tray of events starting with embezzlement of funds and sponsors airing out their dissatisfaction with the way the Union is being run and threatening to pull out.
The new boss is yet to see the report prepared by Simpson Osiemo’s taskforce that was brought on board to investigate alleged fiddling of funds during the 2014’s edition of Safaricom International Sevens and also Bamburi Rugby Super Series.
“We will take appropriate measures based on our constitution and if any member is found guilty we will not relent on letting them leave the board,” noted the incoming chairman.
Leave a comment