Former Nondies RFC captain on how corruption affects Kenyan sports
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Reading Time: 3min | Sat. 26.07.25. | 17:02
Namu believes Kenya should not be benchmarking itself against Uganda, but aiming to challenge powerhouses like South Africa
Before he made his name as one of Kenya’s most fearless investigative journalists, Africa Uncensored co-founder John-Allan Namu was just another young man chasing a rugby dream.
As a former Nondescripts RFC captain and Kenya Simbas player, Namu lived the highs and lows of the sport, but years later, he sees a much deeper issue threatening not only rugby but Kenyan sport as a whole: corruption.
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In a candid interview with Scrummage Africa, the 2024 ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award winner reflected on how deeply entrenched corruption has affected sports development in the country, including the very game that shaped part of his youth.
“In large part, I believe corruption has affected our sports. I remember from my playing days whether it was corruption or not. I played two years of top-flight rugby, it was like Kshs 500 or1,000. I never got paid; I was there because I was passionate.
And now some money is coming into rugby, and people are looking at it purely as an opportunity to enrich themselves. That is the kind of culture we must stamp out. Look what it has done to football, look at what it has done to other sports,” Namu shared.
His rugby journey began in earnest in the early 2000s.
He rose through the ranks at Nondies, eventually captaining the team during the 2001–2002 season.
In the years that followed, he was nominated for Young Player of the Year (2004) and later Player of the Year (2005). He also earned national team honours with the Kenya Simbas.
While at university, Namu juggled rugby with his growing interest in journalism.
Ultimately, the demands of storytelling pulled him away from the pitch.
Still, his admiration for the sport does not soften his stance on what he sees as the greatest danger to its future: corruption at the very top.
He drew attention to patterns of decline across Kenyan sports, from football to swimming, cricket to volleyball, where leadership failures and financial mismanagement have derailed potential.
“People think they own the sport, and they use it as a tool to enrich themselves. People personalise the sport too much; by the time they realise it, they have destroyed the sport.
I have seen it in hockey, swimming, basketball, volleyball, and cricket. In the 70s, we used to be successful as a nation. We do not all have to be lawyers or doctors, why cannot we be sportsmen?” he posed.
Namu believes Kenya should not be benchmarking itself against Uganda, but aiming to challenge powerhouses like South Africa.
“I believe by this time, it should not be only three teams that can attract funding and support to professionalise. Kenya should be one of the best rugby-playing nations consistently.
We should not be competing with Uganda, not to disrespect Uganda. Our objective should be to compete with the Springboks,"he said.
Namu believes that the country has what it takes to produce the finest rugby players in the continent.
"We should consistently beat Namibia, have players playing in the French league, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and also have an incredibly strong local league. All of our success started with local leagues, and that is straight down from age-grade rugby,” he said.
Despite his busy schedule, Namu is still involved with rugby. He plays for the Nondies Legends team.
