Herbert Mensah arrived in Uganda on Tuesday, February 24, ahead of the 17th Rugby Africa General Assembly, describing the upcoming constitutional vote as “huge” for the future of the sport on the continent.
Speaking on arrival, the Rugby Africa President praised Uganda’s leadership and hospitality, singling out the Minister of Sport and President Yoweri Museveni for their support of youth development and sport.
“I think that your Minister of Sport is somebody who I love and have huge respect for. And I’m in your country, and your President has shown us great understanding. You know, when we met him last year, the way he spoke about the youth and he spoke about development and so forth. So, it’s important that I get that out of the way first,” Mensah said.
He also acknowledged the religious season, adding: “Also to all of those who are fasting: Christians with Lent, Muslims with Ramadan. We are all of the Abrahamic faith, so I say, I’m with you in your suffering even though I’m not fasting myself.”
The AGM, set for Friday in Kampala, will bring together presidents from across the continent to vote on proposed amendments to the Rugby Africa constitution. Mensah said reforming governance structures was a key priority when he took office.
“Look, this AGM is huge. When I came into office, there were a number of changes that I said were fundamental. The first was with the constitution. And if we want countries to change their constitutions, we have to look at ours,” he said.
He outlined proposals addressing gender representation, term limits, and eligibility requirements for executive positions.
“We have to address gender, we have to recognize term limits, we have to recognize the fact that you must be recommended from your own country, not from other countries. You have to—we’ve put mechanisms in place to make sure that this works. We’ve had it cleared with World Rugby; they like it. And it is huge. We need 75% approval from the other presidents to pass it through. So that for me is the big one.”
Mensah revealed he had travelled directly from a World Rugby Executive Board meeting to ensure his presence in Kampala.
“I’ve just come from an executive board meeting of World Rugby. We had it yesterday. I cut off the rest of the meetings to make sure I’d be here, because I think Africa is that important,” he said, noting that other engagements in London had taken second place to the African gathering.
Beyond the constitutional vote, the AGM will include safeguarding workshops and governance discussions, with World Rugby representatives in attendance.
“Because Godwin has given us the hospitality here in Uganda, we also have extra days. So we shall have workshops to discuss safeguarding. I want to have meetings with my co-presidents—’cause we’re all equal, we’re presidents—to discuss governance, to discuss the World Rugby strategic plan. Where is Africa going in the next few years? And get feedback from them at the same time.”
The Assembly is expected to shape governance standards, strategic priorities, and the direction of rugby development across Africa’s 40 member unions.
