NAIROBI, Kenya, September 17, 2026 – Strathmore Leos head coach Willis Ojal is set to depart the club, following the conclusion of the 7s season.

Ojal says his decision has been informed by a desire to take a break from the game to concentrate on his family, among other personal endeavours.

“This is actually my last tournament as head coach, so I wouldn’t be in a position to talk about what we want to do going forward. I have a young family and work is also a bit demanding. That’s part of the reason I had to step back a bit,” he said.

The former Nondies head coach assumed the reins at the tail end of the 2023/24 Kenya Cup season, succeeding Louis Kisia who had moved on to the national set-up as Shujaa assistant coach.

His highlights with the students include two Prinsloo 7s title in 2024 and 2025, first beating Nondies 33-7 before downing KCB Rugby 24-7 in the subsequent edition.

Ojal was also recently crowned the best performing coach at the Strathmore Staff Recognition awards.

For all his success, the gaffer’s final hurrah with the side was a low note, losing 24-12 to Menengai Oilers in the Christie 7s final at the RFUEA Grounds on Sunday evening.

Ojal noted that the team played gallantly but unfortunately could not make it count when it mattered most.

He is optimistic that Leos have a bright future in the 7s as well as 15s.

“One of the things I picked is the boys can play when they decide to play. They can have each other’s back when they want to. There’s a great bunch of young men representing Strathmore,” he said.

As he heads to the sunset, Ojal reveals he has learnt a lot of things from his stint with Leos, which will come in handy in the next phase of his life.

“Mostly I’d say about management. They’ve taught me management and patience. You have to be patient in dealing with different characters. You have to have an open mind, willing to listen, willing to learn. no human being is perfect so I’ve learned quite a bit from this young man,” he said.

His parting shot to Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) as he calls it a day: ‘improve on the level of officiating.’

Ojal believes poor officiating is sore thumb that will continue to negate the progress of the National Sevens Circuit (NSC).

“I think we need to invest heavily on officiating. Officiating has been one of the biggest problems. Personally, on my end, we were penalised yesterday for one rule and I said ‘okay, so that’s the rule you guys are using.’ Today we used it against KCB and it went against us. The inconsistency is a bit too much and then when you go out there to represent the country, you’re penalised,” the coach said.

As the 15s season appears on the horizon, Leos have their work cut out to select a successor that will pick up from Ojal left off and hoist them to the next level of success.