- Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Chairperson Harriet Okatch has unveiled part of her vision for rugby development in the country.
- A cornerstone of her mission is grassroots development and talent identification, particularly through collaboration with schools and local clubs.
- She is also looking to spearhead the creation of a new Kenya Rugby Union constitution.
Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Chairperson Harriet Okatch has unveiled a dynamic and multifaceted vision aimed at transforming Kenyan rugby during her two-year tenure.
Since her appointment on June 4, 2025, succeeding Sasha Mutai, who resigned, Okatch has hit the ground running, dedicating her first five weeks in office to crafting strategies that will elevate Kenyan rugby.
Okatch emphasized the strategic efforts being made by the KRU leadership to create structured pathways for both the men’s 15s and 7s national teams.
Shujaa already have that development pathway through the Morans and the Director of Rugby and secretariat, including the development committee. They are working hard to create even more development pathways so that we are able to feed into those different teams. Be it Shujaa, U20, Lionesses (both sevens and 15s), and the Simbas,” Okatch said on Citizen TV on Monday.
We do not want to have a gap, so to speak. I know the Director of Rugby is going around the country to gather people’s feedback on how they would want it structured, so that there is no gap and everyone is involved,” she added.
ALSO READ: KRU appoint first-ever female chairperson after Mutai’s resignation
KRU chair Harriet Okatch lays out bold plans for grassroots growth
A cornerstone of her mission is grassroots development and talent identification, particularly through collaboration with schools and local clubs.
“First, we are working with the Ministry of Education through the KSSSA so that school talent can transition into the clubs and national teams. Also, even when we get into those national teams, I believe we have very good talent within the country, and the coaches are doing their best. Coaches are traveling around the country,” she added.
Okatch also highlighted the role of regional development officers whose mandate is to foster rugby growth at the grassroots while simultaneously providing valuable insights to technical teams.
“We have the regional development officers whose sole purpose is to develop the game at the grassroots level and, at the same time, give feedback and advice to these technical teams,” she emphasized.
Why Harriet Okatch is pushing for KRU constitutional reforms
Another major priority for the first woman ever to chair the KRU is to reform the Union’s constitution an initiative aimed at improving governance and decentralizing decision-making authority.
“First of all, the KRU constitution gives the chairperson ultimate power to make decisions on a lot of things, even unilaterally if they wanted to. However, the game cannot be run by an individual. It’s a team sport; it needs that team to support.”
Yeah, we are agitating to change the constitution because it is something that was ready last year, and we should have passed it in this year’s AGM,” said Okatch.
However, that did not happen. Now it has gone back again to different stakeholders to add their input, and then their affiliates are going to call us back. During that meeting, we are going to have a constitutional review as well as determine when it will be passed.”
National teams update
In terms of competitive engagements, the Kenya Simbas (men’s 15s team) are currently in Uganda for the Rugby Africa Cup 2025, where they are vying for a historic spot at the 2027 Rugby World Cup. They are set to open their campaign against Uganda.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Morans (the men’s second-tier 7s team) recently competed in the Africa 7s Cup held in Mauritius, finishing a respectable fourth.
ALSO READ: Rugby Africa Cup 2025 guide: Teams, format, where to watch, venue, what’s at stake & kickoff times
On the women’s front, the Kenya Lionesses 15s side participated in the Rugby Africa Cup in Madagascar last month and earned a commendable second-place finish behind South Africa.
Both the men’s and women’s senior 7s teams, Shujaa and the Kenya Lionesses, are slated to compete in the newly introduced HSBC Division 2 series for the 2026 season, following the restructuring of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Series.