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Kenya Sevens Rugby coach reinstated

Monday June 25 2018
Simiyu

Innocent Simiyu. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By NATION AFRICA

Sacked Kenya Sevens Rugby head coach Innocent Simiyu has been reinstated.

Simiyu, who was sacked on Thursday last week, has been restored following a meeting between Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa and the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) board led by vice-chairman Thomas Opiyo on Monday.

Echesa said in a statement Monday that besides reinstating Simiyu, his ministry would work with the Union to ensure pending arrears were paid.

“In future, the federation will be consulting with the ministry before such key and serious decisions are made,” said Echesa in a signed statement

Go extra mile

Echsa explained that the ministry and the board also agreed that their goal was to see successful national rugby teams and that they would go extra mile to ensure that was a reality.

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KRU on Thursday sacked Simiyu, just hours after Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala revealed that he had instructed Brand Kenya to cancel its eight-month $120,000 (Sh20m) partnership with the Union.

The Union said that they had mutually parted ways with Simiyu immediately after the coach took full responsibility for the display that saw the playing unit blank out Brand Kenya’s branding in Paris Sevens, which negatively impacted the country and the sponsor’s image.

Concealed the message

The CS said the move was informed by Kenya Sevens players’ decision to conceal the branding of their shirt sponsor, during the Paris Sevens leg of the World Rugby Series on the weekend of June 9 and 10.

Shujaa, playing with Brand Kenya’s “Make It Kenya” message in front of their jerseys, concealed the message during all their matches at the Jean-Bouin Stadium in protest over a payment dispute between themselves, Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) and team sponsor Brand Kenya.

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