Ethnocentricity has reared its ugly head in the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) and despite the sport of Rugby Union historically being viewed as an elite sport therefore above the primal politics of the hoi polloi sports in Kenya, this hasn’t been true in the last decade.
This ethnicity has in its crosshairs Kenya Rugby Union Chairman, Alexander Kiplagat Mutai, who barely a year ago was elected unopposed to the position, having previously served on the KRU board a Director and subsequently, a Vice-chairman.
Sasha, as he is popularly known, a mere two weeks ago felt the heat of intent, when several clubs and board members engineered a vote of no-confidence in him, at the KRU AGM on 28th March 2024.
Whilst he was able to prevaricate around the issue, he will definitely be forced to face the issues head-on when KRU delegates meet again in 30 days for a scheduled SGM (Special General Meeting).
Behind all the murmurs of fidelity to the KRU constitution by those bringing forth the no-confidence motion against Sasha, there lies the unspoken question among them, at least not spoken openly in polite company, of “Kalenjin alijulia Rugby wapi” (to translate this would decontextualize it completely).
You see, Sasha is a member of the Kalenjin community in Kenya, a community that has gained global fame for their athletic exploits in both Middle and long distance running over the last 70 years.
On the other hand, 95% of all contact sports in Kenya is dominated by members of the Luo and Luhya communities, with a smattering of members from the other communities, including Kikuyu, Kamba, Kisii et al.
This includes Rugby where the robust athleticism and performances by the members of the Luo and Luhya communities in club and National teams, in both the male and female categories, is indisputable and the stuff of legend.
Over the years, these players transitioned to become club officials and ultimately the delegates at the KRU AGM, with powers to appoint and disappoint the officers and Directors of the Union.
The elite nature of Rugby in Kenya comes from the illusion that because the sport is largely played at University, with these University graduates moving onto club Rugby while simultaneously scaling the corporate ladder, it is wrongfully assumed that these academic achievers would make enlightened decisions for the game.
Notwithstanding the elitism with which Rugby is viewed by the rest of the country, it is impossible not to take note that the KRU hasn’t had a vote of no-confidence in the last 8 odd years.
These 8 years sat astride the terms of 2 different KRU Chairmen, namely Richard Omwela (more or less a caretaker Chairman) and Jeff Oduor Gangla (2 terms of office).
It is important to note that these two gentlemen are from the Luhya and Luo communities respectively.
The last time acrimony of this magnitude hit the KRU was during the shortlived and tumultuous era of Mwangi Muthee, a member of a minority Rugby community (Kikuyu) in Kenya and who was hounded out of office by his Vice-chairman Philip Jalango, a move that also led to such a massive haemorrhage of sponsorship, from which KRU is yet to fully recover.
There can be no other inference drawn from the above scenario than that the majority Luo and Luhya voters who side with the no-confidence motion may be compelled to do so for no other reason than that they have been called to action by their tribemates.
That is how low the reasoning in the KRU appears to have sunk over the last decade.
The motion of no-confidence has been proposed by Kisumu RFC, a club from the lakeside City of Kisumu, the ancestral roots of the Luo community and the epicentre of agitation politics of all kinds in Kenya.
The real issue appears the control of the almost Kes. 500m annual budget of the KRU and the cronyism expected by the KRU delegates from those they place in office.
Sasha faces the exact same problem that Muthee did 8 years ago.
Muthee was a hugely successful and accomplished individual entrepreneur over and above being a highly capped ex-player for the Kenya National team and other representative sides.
It was known that he did not need to tap into KRU resources to line his pocket unlike some of his colleagues in the KRU Board.
At the time, Rugby was wading chest-deep in sponsor and government goodwill, with much money in its coffers.
These Board members resented this fact and his obstinacy against allowing them to raid said coffers.
Similarly, Sasha is viewed as a well-to-do professional who doesn’t need to dip into KRU for more money.
He may not have realized that some of his colleagues don’t share his sentiments and outlook.
To them, the KRU is their personal piggy bank and an opportunity to reward cronies, often in the most clumsy of ways.
For sure, Rugby isn’t where it was a decade ago. The national 7s team has been relegated from the WR7s circuit and now fights for promotion back into the top flight.
Its popularity among a majority of Kenyans has taken a dip, along with their spending power.
A successful vote of no-confidence would surely sound the death knell for what is left of the sport.
Those close to the game may not realize this because they seem to exist in some sort of echo chamber.
It isn’t accidental that Sasha came onto the helm of KRU unopposed, that the lack of interested takers for that position was an oversight…no?
Those in the know say this job is thankless and back-breaking and certainly not for the faint-hearted.
More needs to be written about the internal affairs of the KRU; otherwise, these elected officials seem all but ready to sink the game.
They seem to have lost historical perspective and do not see how precarious a position the game is in now.
