Despite signing a two-year contract extension with Rwanda Energy Group (REG), head coach Henry Mwinuka has reiterated his intention to resign if the club does not maintain him at its helm during the upcoming season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Since the inception of the BAL, Rwandan teams that represented the country at the showpiece hired Americans as head coaches and relegated the local ones to deputies.
In September, Mwinuka guided REG to the league trophy, a feat that earned them automatic qualification to the BAL.
In an interview with Times Sport in the days following the triumph, the Tanzanian tactician vowed that he would throw in the towel if the team is not kept in his hands at the BAL.
To the surprise of some, Mwinuka recently renewed his contract with the local giants. Times Sport contacted him to understand whether he was given guarantees that he will be the team&039;s head coach at the BAL.
"Regarding the BAL, it's the management's business to handle, because now we are in the off-season. However, my position is clear: If I am not maintained as the head coach at the BAL, I will resign," he noted.
Mwinuka's new contract is expected to keep him at REG until 2024.
He joined the "electricians" in 2019. He has led them to two league trophies, in 2021 and 2022, which earned them back-to-back qualification for the BAL.
He is an experienced coach who has previously handled teams including the Patriots, University of Dar es Salaam Basketball Club (Tanzania), Savio Basketball Club (Tanzania), and Kampala International University (Uganda).
He was also the head coach of the national team on an interim basis between December 2020 and April 2021, after the resignation of Serbian tactician Vladimir Bosnjak.
As part of his short tenure with the national team, he participated in the second window of Afrobasket qualifiers in Monastir, Tunisia and guided Rwanda to its first win from the six matches it played in the campaign.
The win was against South Sudan (62-58).
He also served as an assistant coach of the national team, under Senegalese tactician Cheikh Sarr during the final tournament of the Afrobasket from August 24 to September 5, 2021.