Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) President Rafatu Inusah led the country’s delegation at the 17th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Rugby Africa held in Kampala, Uganda on Friday, February 27, 2026, where delegates from 32 member unions approved a sweeping package of governance reforms that will reshape the administration of the sport across the continent.
Inusah attended the Assembly in her capacity as GRFU president, accompanied by Emmanuel Kalos, a board member of the union. The meeting, held at Kabira Country Club in the Ugandan capital, serves as Rugby Africa’s highest decision-making forum and is convened annually to set policy direction and exercise governance over the sport’s development across Africa’s 40 member unions.
The centrepiece of the 17th AGM was the adoption of a new constitution, which Rugby Africa described as a fit-for-purpose framework designed to modernise the organisation’s structures and bring them into alignment with global standards in safeguarding, environmental sustainability, and corporate responsibility. All resolutions tabled at the Assembly were passed by a majority of more than 50 percent of eligible members present, satisfying the constitutional quorum requirements.
Among the specific changes approved, the size of the Executive Committee was formally defined at between seven and eleven members, incorporating independent members appointed on the basis of professional or business expertise. A percentage-based gender diversity mechanism was also introduced within the Executive Committee, alongside new safeguards to promote gender balance in World Rugby Council representation. The reforms additionally introduced a provision that automatically vacates a committee member’s seat if they no longer hold an elected position within their national union, strengthening the link between continental leadership and grassroots governance.
A North-South regional structure was formally introduced to improve coordination and development focus across the continent’s geographically diverse rugby landscape.
Two elections were held at the AGM. Kevin Venkiah, president of the Mauritius Rugby Union, was elected as Treasurer of Rugby Africa. Godwin Kayangwe, president of the Uganda Rugby Union, was elected to serve as an Executive Committee member, a result that carried added significance given Uganda’s role as host nation of the meeting and its recent emergence as a major centre of continental rugby activity.
Rugby Africa President Herbert Mensah, a Ghanaian businessman who has served as the organisation’s president since 2015, chaired the proceedings. Before the Assembly, Mensah outlined the objective of modernising Rugby Africa’s structural foundations and described good governance as non-optional for the sport’s continued growth on the continent.
Inusah, reflecting on Ghana’s participation, said the union remained committed to playing its part in growing the game and building a stronger future for rugby across Africa. Her attendance in Kampala follows a period of sustained activity for the GRFU domestically, including the inaugural Rugby Union Heritage Cup victory over Nigeria in November 2025, the launch of the Empower Her Kayayei programme in Accra in February 2026, and the earlier rollout of the Rugby Rising Play girls’ participation initiative at the University of Ghana Rugby Stadium in September 2025.
