Former Kenya Rugby Union [KRU] vice-chairman Sasha Mutai is the front-runner after declaring an interest to contest for KRU Chairmanship in the upcoming polls slated for March 24.
The 45 year-old quantity surveyor lost to Oduor Gangla at the 2019 Annual General Meeting polls after he garnered 20 votes against 33 secured by the incumbent who is not defending the seat.
“My vision for the game is very big, and I’m quite ambitious and for the last few years the KRU in my opinion and of that many others has not been run well and there are many issues.
“My candidacy is on and I have been requested by the clubs and players to run for office because of the mess that is currently in the union. My leadership is very involving and my main stakeholders are the fans and players,”affirmed the long serving rugby stakeholder.
While announcing his candidature,he said his agenda will revolve around government relations, Corporate partnerships, rugby development, rugby clubs, and national teams.
Mutai is very optimistic the sport’s affiliates will consider him in his third attempt at the top seat after failed bids in 2017 when he lost to former KRU Chair Richard Omwela and 2019 when he was defeated by Gangla; the former Mean Machine player and Impala Saracens chairman.
Years ago,his priorities were centred around reviving the defunct annual Rugby Super Series 15s tournament, working around improving the performance of Kenya 7s and restoring the fading glamour of the Safari 7s.
“Kenya 7s has only in the last few years started experiencing problems, and only because of lack of good management. The playing unit and the coaching staff have done an exemplary job in the face of adversity. The high turnover of coaching staff shows dysfunction in the board, and the sponsors and partners have witnessed this, thus their reduced sponsorship.My plan is to get credibility back to the KRU. The players, fans and the corporate world currently have no faith in the current board.” he added
He is facing opposition from AoN Sub-sahara Africa chief executive officer Joe Onsando in what looks like a two-horse race for the position.
The elections come in the wake of the Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT) nullifying elections held last year on September 6 after they failed to meet the threshold and had massive irregularities.
The SDT ruled that the election of Joshua Aroni as the treasurer, Ian Mugambi as secretary general and Oscar Mango as a director was null and void.
By Fred Odanga Azelwa.