NAIROBI, Kenya, March 29- The dispute between Kenya Rugby Union and Collins Injera is now settled and the head of technical bench Mike Friday is now free to engage the player.
The development was confirmed on Good Friday by the Director in charge of National Squads and Elite performance and the Acting CEO of Kenya Rugby Union will engage Collins on his new contractual terms.
This process will proceed immediately the office receives green light from the head of the technical bench.
“We would like to thank our sponsors Kenya Airways and the entire rugby fraternity for your continuo’s support,” a statement from KRU said.
Kenya will take to the field in the seventh HSBC Series round in Japan having made the Main Cup semis of the last leg in Hong Kong without the influencial Mwamba RFC winger.
Friday has named an unchanged squad from the one that did duty in Hong Kong for Japan where they will face Wales, USA and Scotland in Pool B.
Injera was suspended from the team in late February after disciplinary action was taken by the Union when he was embroiled in a club versus country row.
“The Kenya Sevens team is on transition, we are headed to full professionalism and some of our boys are finding it difficult to cope with the sacrifices they have to make. The level of discipline has to go a notch higher.
“We want to be world champions, there is a lot of character and value that needs to be developed so that we can be the best in the world. We are not going to compromise on discipline,” the KRU chair, Mwangi Muthee said at the time.
“We have contractual obligations and we must have order. You do not wake up one day and say you do not want to train. We have Friday who is the head coach and he does not tolerate indiscipline and we will build a team from scratch if we have to. Let us give him a chance to develop the team,” Muthee added.
“Nobody can stop Collins from developing his career after rugby but indiscipline cannot be tolerated. He has not been training and wants to be in the team! That is unacceptable,” the chair thundered denying they were interfering with the player’s life outside the sport.
A week before, Mwamba suspended Injera and his national sevens team mates, Dennis Ombachi and Horace Otieno for failing to honour their Kenya Cup semi final against Strathmore Leos where they lost 18-15.
The winger was caught between his compulsory internship at Daystar University where he studies, his club and national team where he petitioned the parties involved to seek for an amicable solution before news his contract had been terminated broke.