It has been an interesting couple of months for Kenya Rugby, although when has it ever been otherwise? This time, however, it has been a bit more interesting, louder, and a bit more chaotic.
I won’t go into the details of the said wrangles, which have marked a new low for the sport (story for another day), instead, I’ll try to look at what’s next for Kenya Rugby, which is at a crossroads. First, there are no quick fixes to this, as this writer has opined here and elsewhere, it is a long, tough road!
We are all in agreement that we have a massive problem in Kenya Rugby, a problem that needs neurosurgery, not a dose of mara moja. The KRU Board is a sum total of the sports failures from club level, we have consistently sent people of questionable character at club to the board, then act surprised when things go wrong. It is not a board issue, it is a system issue, if the current board were to go tomorrow, they’d be replaced by others of the same ilk, because it will be the same people who voted for these ones, that will vote for the next crop, and we’d be back to ‘kuinua mabango’ in no time!
We have been caught up in this whirlwind for some time now, and it is about time we jumped out of it. I’ll draw parallels with the recently concluded Simbas campaign at the 2027 RWC qualifier, where we wake up on the year of the qualifier, hurriedly put together a team, send them to camp, and hope for the best. It has happened since 2014, by my count.
On the other hand, the eventual winners, Zimbabwe, looked to have had a clear plan, from the U20 sides that won back-to-back Barthes Trophies at Nyayo Stadium, their vision was clear, “We want to go to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.”
Back to the issue at hand, to fix Kenya Rugby’s governance, once and for all, we have to start from the bottom, from club level. I don’t think I can emphasize this enough! The club officials have been our weakest link, and especially those from Nationwide and Championship clubs, where a simple bottle of whiskey and a few bites of burnt meat will sway their vote, not for the game, but for ‘their person.’
It is time we walk the talk, put the game ahead of whatever personal interests we may have, we need the right people in the right positions. If we sort out the circus at club level, everything else will fall in place, it is that simple!
As mentioned earlier, there is no quick fix, it is time to move from online ‘rage’ to action, it is time to move on from personalities, finger-pointing, and cheap politics to solutions, it is time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
If we are truly for this game, let’s get involved in the club’s leadership, become members, and start influencing decisions from that point. It will take time before we turn the corner. The next two election cycles at club and KRU level will be crucial.
Many have tried before us, but this has to be the time that things change for good, for ourselves and those who will come after us, so kazi kwetu!
KWISHA…Nimeruka Nje!!!
It starts by creative awareness in players,encourage them to know their rights and they are the biggest stakeholders of the game. The club officials are there because of them, make them understand the need to be involved in the club’s management and decision making. Players to hold the club officials accountable for any decision they make that doesn’t help them. Player’s should be consulted or told why their chairman or secretary voted for a particular person on the board. Finally player’s should start speaking on atrocities happening in their clubs or even in the national team. Silence during times of oppression is not being neutral it’s simply siding with the oppressor and silence never built a future.
We need a overhaul of the system and it won’t happen once as you’ve said, we need to be ready to bear the consequences and do the dirty work.