Kenya men’s handball team suffer 5th straight loss at African Cup of Nations
By Luke Oluoch, January 29, 2026The struggles for Kenya’s men’s handball team at the ongoing African Cup of Nations games in Rwanda continued unabated on Thursday, January 29, 2026, after slumping to another defeat against Benin.
Peter Mwathi’s team fell to a 33-30 defeat to the West African, a loss that extended its losing streak to six defeats on the bounce. Renaud Sokegbe proved a thorn in Kenya’s backline, successfully converting all his attempted seven shots to claim the man of the match award.
The side had also suffered successive losses in their Group B matches in the preliminary rounds.
Proceedings proved a tough ask in the group, where defeats against Tunisia and Guinea saw Kenya’s start to the championship kick off on a dismal note. The side suffered their first loss in a 36-24 defeat to Guinea in their opening match, before a 21-39 loss to Tunisia further compounded matters for Kenya.
Bottom of Group
A close run against Cameroon saw the East Africans conclude the group encounters on the wrong end of a 28-24 scoreline, leaving them at the bottom of the group.
The losses prompted Kenya to contend with relegation from the Main Cup games instead, settling for a place to play for consolation and ranking in the second tier, the President’s Cup.
The challenging spell continued further on Sunday, January 25, 2026, after Congo edged Kenya 37-26 to force them down the tournament’s pecking order.
Meanwhile, the competition is now in its decisive phase with four nations locked in the sole objective of fighting for national pride and securing their place in the final.
Road to Finals
The semifinal action at the BK Arena in Kigali will see Egypt facing off against Cape Verde as Tunisia locks horns against Algeria in another all-North African encounter.
The competition serves as the qualification path for the 30th International Handball Federation (IHF) Men’s World Championship.
Kenya’s quest for qualification saw Mwathi include foreign-based players in the team’s ranks for the first time.
Rwanda-based trio of Morgan Simiyu, Brian Wakhuka, and Julius Chiunda, who plies for APR, were among those who made the cut