A heavy cloud hangs over the suspension of Kenya Lionesses coach Dennis Mwanja ahead of the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens tournament that kicks off on November 15 at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa ground.

A two-week suspension slapped on the former Kenya Sevens player on allegations of ‘safeguarding’ has dragged on to a second month with no possible resolution in sight. How a two week suspension has turned into months begs an answer and could be a pointer of a hidden agenda against the coach by the parties involved.

Mwanja was initially suspended for two weeks as the Kenya Rugby Union initiated investigations on allegations by an an unnamed player just before Safari Sevens. KRU took the allegations seriously after the player reported the issue to the sports ministry.

However, investigations by www.thesportsnewsarena.com established that although the player had a right to report the matter to the ministry, proper channels were not followed according to the laid down protocol. Also, the manner in which the information reached the public domain circumvented procedural course raising questions about the intent and motive.

Unanswered Question

There is a burning question that remains unanswered. Was the right procedure followed in suspending the coach? Was Mwanja a victim of circumstances? SNA interviewed past and present team managers who are well versed with the procedures to be followed in resolving issues within a team environment.

The complainant has a choice of approaching the team’s leadership that comprises senior players, the captain and assistant captain who will forward the matter to the team’s management and eventually a KRU director under whose docket this falls. Alternatively, the complainant may raise the issue with KRU officials. In Mwanja’s case, this process was not followed.

Another question which comes to the fore is whether KRU has a policy on safeguarding. Three KRU directors who spoke to SNA anonymously confided this was a gray area. What emerged was that the policy could have been included in a contract signed by the technical bench and KRU which did not expressly have specific but implied details.

Consequently, SNA cast a shadow of doubt after KRU, after the suspension of Mwanja organized a safeguarding awareness seminar attended by players. Whether this was a knee-jerk exercise remains unclear.  

Safeguarding Policy

Perhaps another unanswered question is whether safeguarding policy is equitably applied across both genders or targets a specific gender within the team environment. Without going into details, the policy appears to be silent on the nature of relationships and the conduct of the team which is open to interpretation.

Lastly, was Mwanja given a chance to state his side of the story after the allegations were made public? SNA reached ot to Mwanja who declined to comment saying he was still waiting for word from KRU. When SNA approached KRU officials who were privy to the information, they admitted the coach had not been given a chance to respond to the alleged safeguarding issues raised by the player in question.

This partly supported a decision by the ministry to refer the case back to KRU while stating they had no authority to recommend the suspension or disciplinary measures which could only be taken by KRU. SNA also established that Mwanja was not called by the ministry to give his side of the story. The ministry expressly stated they were not in a position to handle disciplinary issues which could only be enforced by KRU.

Past Players

It has also emerged that individuals from KRU have been frantically looking for any shred of evidence to justify their claims of safeguarding against Mwanja by contacting past and present players to divulge text messages between them and the coach. These attempts have drawn blank. 

To summarize, KRU admit the matter was not handled properly and if Mwanja whose contract expired at the end of October choses not to renew and opt for a legal redress, KRU could have an egg on their face. A meeting by a KRU arm dealing with team issues are frantically trying to resolve the issue but have not invited the coach to the table despite his image already tarnished. 

There is a disquiet among the playing unit with some players demanding answers. They are afraid to look from the inside and address the issue among themselves. A few months ago, SNA interviewed Mwanja who talked of a possible transition within the team that involved phasing out older players and reducing the average playing age. 

Transition Plan

Some of the senior players were to provide support in other capacities. There seems to have been a rebuttal by some of the players towards this plan which could have been interpreted as a plan to eject them form the team.

As the tournament nears, rugby pundits will be monitoring the performance of the team. Mwanja already proved his mettle by guiding the team to the apex of Challenger Series which involved beating South Africa twice at home and once in Los Angeles to qualify for Tier Two competition.