Kenya Rugby Union implores Uhuru to lift ban imposed on sporting activities

The Kenya Rugby Union has unreservedly appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to review the suspension imposed on sporting activities on March 26.

The President in a state of the nation address ordered sportsmen to halt all local competitions and training sessions in an effort aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus.

The shocking orders were met with massive dress down from all athletes who are yet to recover from the effects triggered by last year’s lengthy suspension.

The union in a bold statement argued that the announcement was punitive as they religiously conducted testing after resuming their activities last year which had minimal covid-19 positive returns.

“|At the time of the league’s suspension on Friday 26 March 2021, we had conducted a total of 1,551 COVID-19 PCR tests, 44 of which returned positive results. This makes for a 2.8 per cent prevalence rate. We have subjected players and match officials in the Kenya Cup league to regular testing and have taken the necessary steps inclusive of contact tracing and re-testing in incidences where players test positive for COVID-19,” read part of the statement.

The union also stated that another temporal ban and interruption in their calendar of events would see them lose revenue as well as players’ fitness sink to new lows.

Additionally, the Oduor Gangla led federation said last month’s development says another ban would affect those eke a living from the game as well as subject players to psychological and mental torture.

“The suspension came at a time when Kenyan rugby was picking up after a year of inactivity occasioned by the initial lockdown and ensuing factors critical to getting the Government green light to return to play. This period of inactivity came at a cost. We lost revenues due to event cancellations, most notably the Rugby Africa Barthes U20 Trophy, the National Sevens Circuit and the Safari Sevens. Think about those men and women who contributed to the game as match officials, medics, service providers, vendors, journalists, photographers and broadcasters – their livelihoods took a hit and they, alongside their dependents have borne the brunt of the disruption," continued the statement.

With Kenya set to host the 2021 Rugby Africa U20 Barthes Trophy where the preparations received a boost following the formation of a Government backed Local Organizing Committee (LOC), the union alleges that the decree passed last month would reduce the hosts to punching bags in the competition.

“Rugby is a contact sport and the levels of strength and conditioning take time to attain. After the long break, players had just started getting into shape. With another possibly prolonged break, we will lose all the gains and ultimately be noncompetitive in the upcoming international assignments.It is our humble plea that President Uhuru Kenyatta rescinds his decision to suspend sports activities, rugby included,” read the final bit of the statement.