My Bold Predictions For 2023

Happy 2023 everyone, here’s hoping that you and yours made it this side of the year safe and sound! With the pleasantries done, lets try look at how the year will play out through the waning lens of crystal ball from Kitui…

Please note that these predictions are solely based on the prevailing situations and the quickly fading powers of ‘kamuti’ that was acquired way back when Nakuru was a force to reckon with in Rugby. They thus, should be treated with the same wit that they were jotted down with.

However, should these come to pass, they will be used as a solid launching pad for my new, ‘Mganga hatari kutoka Kitui..’ shop in 2024! Let’s get to it…

Kenya Cup

After five match days, it seems like this will be a rather straightforward season, with the usual top three already drifting away, the question is who will fill that last semi final slot. My prediction is that it will be the Quin, I’ll go ahead and say that they will not lose a league match this side of the year. The signings made during the Christmas transfer season will be the difference.

At the top, my prediction is that KCB will win their fifth title in six seasons, ninth overall, and they might just take it unbeaten. The Lions look like they have something a bit extra this season and with most of their senior players aging, you feel they are giving it that last push before they fade.

It will be another blockbuster battle to avoid relegation, it will come down to these three; MMUST, Mean Machine and Nakuru. Monks might have just edged it with that win over Mwamba, as usual Kulabu and Blad know how to navigate their seasons and will have escaped this fight. Who will get the chop? MMUST and Nakuru.

In the Championship, Nondies will definitely win the main title, question is who will be joining them in the 23/24 Kenya Cup. My prediction, a three horse race between Kisumu, Kabarak and Daystar Falcons, with Kisumu taking it. Impala will unfortunately spend another season in the Championship.

With only one match played in the women’s Kenya cup this far, there’s little to base the predictions on but another Mwamba v Impala final is on the cards. Mwamba going back to back.

The National Teams

Apart from the Shujaa, there is currently no clarity on the rest of the national squads calendars, what is sure is that the XVs Lionesses will be playing in Rugby Africa Women’s Cup Pool A, for a chance to play in the innagural Women’s international competition, WXVs.

Word on the streets is that Kenya will host the 2023 JWRT, where Chipu will come up against the likes of Portugal, Uruguay, Scotland and Zimbabwe who won the Barthes Cup here last year. Depending when we start our preparations, we might just come out with a win here.

We wait to see if the Simbas will participate in the 2023 Currie Cup first division, but it would be great to see them back playing at that level and probably get another couple of matches in Nairobi? May it be so.

To the elephant in the room, Shujaa. I detailed the massive challenge we face to retain our core status, in my 2022 review, here. We are currently in 14th spot heading to the fourth leg of the series, we would probably remain within the 12th and 14th places up until Tolouse, where we would then play in the core team qualifier play off. Unfortunately, I see us getting relegated, I know the team will give it everything and pull some great results, but logically, I don’t see us catching up.

If there is one thing Shujaa have showed us time and again, is that they know how to fight back when the odds are stacked high up against them. I really hope that they once again do and that I am wrong with this prediction.

Governance

2023 looks like a very interesting year in terms of governance, for starters it might be very possible that we’ll see two elections at KRU. There is an application to nullify the elections held in September 2022, if that goes through, it will mean that the four elected office holders will lose their seats and a fresh election ordered.

At the same time, the tenure of the other board members, including the chairman, ends in March 2023, when we are due for the next election, if this theory holds, then we might just have an opportunity to elect a fresh board by April. Let’s see how this one plays out…I hope the affiliates are thinking along the same lines.

That’s about it from the crystal ball for the year 2023, at least the opening half…pretty sure the images will get clearer as we move through the year. Otherwise here is to a great one ahead! Feel free to share what you see from your lens for 2023 in the comments section.

KWISHA… Nimeruka Nje!!!