CHAIRMAN’S WORD: Omwela answers critics, Sasha blames constitution and caucuses for defeat

Chairman Kenya Rugby Football Union Richard Omwela retained his seat during the Kenya Rugby Football Union (KRFU) annual general meeting held at KRFU grounds on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

“I will now be visible, but I will not drink in bars with clubs,” those were the words of Richard Omwela after being re-elected as the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) chairman.

The Nairobi-based senior counsel was answering his critics, who had labelled him an absentee chairman during his previous tenure.

“The role of a chairman is not to attend every game, that is impossible. My role as the head of the association is to focus on fundraising, look for sponsorship, ensure the meetings are attended and the policies passed are implemented. I am not here to drink in bars with clubs,” said Omwela.

“I was doubling up as District Governor of Rotary International, whose term is coming to an end. I will now be visible on the rugby pitch in the next two years.

Omwela earned his third term in office after beating his main challenger Sasha Mutai (23 votes) by two votes in closely contested elections on Wednesday at the RFUEA Grounds.

And as Omwela prepares to serve his final term at the helm of the union, he has outlined 2019 World Cup qualification for Kenya Simbas’ as his main agenda.

“Ideally, my focus would be to qualify for 2019 World in Japan. Kenya has never played at the World Cup, but having been re-elected every effort must be done to ensure we travel to Japan,” said Omwela.

“If I can achieve that by the time I leave office, I will say goodbye with a big smile. It is really something that any country in the world is able to look up to and say this is an achievement. So, I want to look at world cup qualification as my priority.”

Although KRU is focusing on developing the Kenya U19 team ahead of the World Cup qualification, it has been a bit challenging to get high-profile friendly matches for the junior team.

“If we want to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, we need to focus on the U19 team because these are the players we need to bring up to be able to compete in Japan. But unfortunately, the challenge is who are they playing against in friendlies?

"The only competition we have around us is Namibia and Zimbabwe. But we will put structures in place to tap into the junior team. We want to see if they can have at least three matches with the senior team,” explained Omwela.

But while Omwela was savouring victory in election, Sasha blamed the KRU constitution and caucuses for his defeat.

“The current constitution is unconstitutional where the incumbent and three board members have a vote on the election,” said Sasha.

“I will now be visible, but I will not drink in bars with clubs,” those were the words of Richard Omwela after being re-elected as the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) chairman.

The Nairobi-based senior counsel was answering his critics, who had labelled him an absentee chairman during his previous tenure.

“The role of a chairman is not to attend every game, that is impossible. My role as the head of the association is to focus on fundraising, look for sponsorship, ensure the meetings are attended and the policies passed are implemented. I am not here to drink in bars with clubs,” said Omwela.

“I was doubling up as District Governor of Rotary International, whose term is coming to an end. I will now be visible on the rugby pitch in the next two years.

Omwela earned his third term in office after beating his main challenger Sasha Mutai (23 votes) by two votes in closely contested elections on Wednesday at the RFUEA Grounds.

And as Omwela prepares to serve his final term at the helm of the union, he has outlined 2019 World Cup qualification for Kenya Simbas’ as his main agenda.

“Ideally, my focus would be to qualify for 2019 World in Japan. Kenya has never played at the World Cup, but having been re-elected every effort must be done to ensure we travel to Japan,” said Omwela.

“If I can achieve that by the time I leave office, I will say goodbye with a big smile. It is really something that any country in the world is able to look up to and say this is an achievement. So, I want to look at world cup qualification as my priority.”

Although KRU is focusing on developing the Kenya U19 team ahead of the World Cup qualification, it has been a bit challenging to get high-profile friendly matches for the junior team.

“If we want to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, we need to focus on the U19 team because these are the players we need to bring up to be able to compete in Japan. But unfortunately, the challenge is who are they playing against in friendlies?

"The only competition we have around us is Namibia and Zimbabwe. But we will put structures in place to tap into the junior team. We want to see if they can have at least three matches with the senior team,” explained Omwela.

But while Omwela was savouring victory in election, Sasha blamed the KRU constitution and caucuses for his defeat.

“The current constitution is unconstitutional where the incumbent and three board members have a vote on the election,” said Sasha.

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