Kenya rugby suspends vice-chairman, secretary resigns

The power struggle at the helm of Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) reached a crescendo Thursday when the board announced the suspension of vice-chairman Phillip Jalang'o as secretary Eddie Omondi resigned with immediate effect.

The two directors are reportedly accused of masterminding financial embezzlement and awarding service contracts to cronies in relation to two premier annual international invitational rugby 7s and 15s events last year that have seen sponsors flee the Union.

The KRU board, led by returning chairman Richard Omwela, cracked the whip on the perceived errant officials in a bid to save face for the national governing body that is fast losing credibility among the corporate family.

A report into the shady deals pertaining to the 2014 Safaricom Sevens and Bamburi Rugby Super Series, where hundreds of thousands of dollars from sponsors remain unaccounted for by audit firm PKF, was cited as the basis of the sanctions against the pair. "The suspension, pending a resolution of the Special General Meeting (of) the KRU, is based on results of the PKF forensic audit which has been ongoing since January this year. The report was tabled at the board meeting of April 29," said a statement from the union.

However, Jalang'o, who is being suspended for the second time since a Kenyan High Court annulled similar sanctions against him in July last year, termed the move a witch-hunt and politically instigated machinations to rid the board of reformers.

"The suspension letter does not explain due course for the action and it is just the politics going on at KRU. They did not cite which part of the constitution the suspension is based on and it does not even allow fellow board members to take such action against another," he explained. Endite