As the Kenya Rugby Sevens national team prepares to fight relegation at the London 7s this weekend, player Dennis Ombachi has exposed shackles that have been ailing the team this season.
This only adds to Shujaa’s terrible season at the HBC World Sevens series which saw a number of senior players opting out of the campaign.
The Rugby star revealed on his Twitter page that the management is to blame for the ailment that the team has suffered this season. He revealed the low salaries players have been receiving and yet they are expected to produce results, good results.
Ombachi revealed this in a thread he sent from Russia where he is visiting a friend. He has been playing for Shujaa for ten years and says that the players were suffering in silence and he decided to be the one to break it for the sake of the sport and future sportsmen who will represent Kenya in the future.
I will be back soon broke as I left having represented kenya for over 10 years in the world stage, its now sinking in how unappreciated we are back home, and no I never wasted my earnings, its just enough to survive.
KNOW YOUR WORTH
— dennis ombachi|4.1🥇 (@ombachi13) May 24, 2019
Willy Ambaka, who is also among the boycotting players who decided not to come back to training even after the union ‘agreed’ terms with the players, supported his teammate in a subsequent tweet.
Ambaka also shared photos showing poor conditions of the gym he uses to train as he cannot afford to train in a state of the art facility.
“The world suffers a lot not because of the violence of bad people, but because of silence of good people. I stand with my brother Ombachi. It’s sad what players go through, year in year out. All we asked for is respect and good working conditions,” Ambaka tweeted.
“When calling players names or saying they are no good have this images in your head,” Ambaka said upon sharing the photos of the gym.
— Willy Ambaka (@Willyambaka) May 24, 2019
Shujaa players are respected on the pitch globally but the conditions they live in locally does not match that. With a salary of Ksh28,000 a month, these players cannot afford to live a life that matches with their status.
In fact, according to Ombachi, senior players were offered a salary almost four times what junior players earn so as to keep silent about the sad state of affairs but they declined.
I am even ashamed to say I reprsented kenya in the olympics here, I will tell you what Russia does to its olympians just for going there, sisi pesa yetu waliiba na waka kula yote
— dennis ombachi (@ombachi13) May 24, 2019
The Kenyan rugby team, Shujaa, will again have an opportunity to salvage their fortunes at the London Sevens slated for the weekend of 25th and 26th May.
It is going to be an uphill task for the ill-fated team as they have been pooled among World rugby giants. Shujaa is in group B with Hong Kong 7s winners Fiji, Samoa and France. Shujaa is currently 13th on the 15 team log but they ought to work and jump up the log to be safe.
With the teams Kenya is facing, it is easier for Shujaa to drop a few spots than it is for them to jump a few. Only one team is relegated but Shujaa is only 4 points safe of being relegated. Sitting at 14th is Wales with 25 points and at 15th is Japan with 22 points. The three are embroiled with the relegation dogfight as the series is left with two legs to play.
With the insight released about the team, can the team go against all odds to produce good results at London’s leg? The players are forced to put patriotism ahead of good pay. Ambaka paid respect to the current Shujaa team saying they are doing the team name’s justice with the pay they are receiving.
SHUJAA FULL SQUAD FOR LONDON 7S
Vincent Onyala, Andrew Amonde, Bush Mwale, Daniel Sikuta, Charles Omondi, Eden Agero, Daniel Taabu, Jacob Ojee, Cyprian Kuto, Jefferey Oluoch, Nelson Oyoo, Johnstone Olindi, Brian Wandera
whatever kenya sevens is going through is a product of no integrity or morals, its sad when players have to coach the coach employed and paid to coach them.
— dennis ombachi|4.1🥇 (@ombachi13) May 24, 2019
