Three Shamas Foundation players among them twin brothers Joseph and James Kangethe, face a life ban after attacking centre referee Saidi Kenya at the RFUEA grounds during Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Championship semifinals playoffs pitting Shamas and Catholic Monks. 

KRU through its secretary Ian Mugambi condemned the attack on the referee saying that the actions were against the values of the game and revealed that disciplinary action is underway.

Among the three, twin brothers Joseph and James Kangethe can be clearly identified in a short video circulating on social media showing the attack during the match.

“The Kenya Rugby Union strongly condemns the physical attack on centre referee Saidi Kenya during the KRU Championship semifinal between Catholic Monks and Shamas Rugby Foundation on Saturday 19 March 2022,” reads a statement by KRU.

“The attack on the referee by three Shamas Rugby Foundation players goes against the spirit and values of the game.

There is no room for the abuse of match officials in Kenyan Rugby. In line with World Rugby and KRU laws and regulations, a disciplinary process is underway and the outcome will be communicated once the process has been completed,” the statement concludes.

The soft-spoken referee hails from Mombasa County and is an alumnus of the Khamis High school rugby team where afterwards he joined Mombasa Sports Club before later joining Kabras Sugar for a short stint. 

Kenya as fondly known is a die-hard rugby enthusiast who has grown the ranks of a player to a match official at a young age and is among the top upcoming referees in the country and the actions against him have solicited angry reactions by both players and fans.

In the heated final for a spot in next season’s Kenya Cup league, Catholic Monks earned a promotion to the Kenya Cup after winning the Championship semifinals against Shamas.

Monks were joined by another varsity side Mean Machine who beat Pirates 14-20 while Monks saw of Shamas 5-9 to set up the Championship final on Saturday, March 26, 2022, at Catholic University, Nairobi.

Sam Omollo scored three penalties for Monks with centre Godfrey Khisero going for Shamas.