Kenyan rugby was thrown into turmoil when Kenyan Rugby Union (KRU) chairman Mwangi Muthee resigned on Wednesday in the wake of the sevens team dismal showing in the Sevens World Series.
Muthee, who was elected to the post four years ago, is the second high profile official to resign after South African Paul Treu quit as coach of the sevens team on Sunday following Canada’s victory over Kenya in the Bowl Final in South Africa.
“The events of the recent past compel me to vacate the position because I feel my agenda of driving the game further was being derailed,” said Muthee in a statement.
Muthee’s departure, which followed an emergency board meeting on Tuesday, leaves the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) sharply divided after two other board members resigned earlier this week.
The outgoing boss said “irreconcible differences” with his fellow Union officials had contributed to his decision to quit.
“In my opinion, some of the Board members integrity was not beyond reproach, threatening to bring the game into disrepute,” Muthee said.
The KRU named Felix Ochieng, formerly a deputy coach to Treu, as the new sevens coach on Tuesday, and he will be in charge of the team for the remainder of the 2014/2015 season.
Kenya has only seven points after three rounds of the series and is 14th in the 16-team competition.