Kenya’s men’s team falls short in handball AFCON
By Luke Oluoch, January 31, 2026The Men’s Senior Handball African Cup of Nations (AFCON) has concluded in Egypt with Kenya’s men’s handball team finishing a distant 15th.
Peter Mwathi’s charges’ position was confirmed on Friday, January 30, 2026, after beating rivals Uganda 35-29 to seal the continental ranking.
Egypt edged Tunisia 34-27 in an epic finale showdown to claim the 27th edition’s gold medal.
World Cup slots
The bronze medal battle between Cape Verde and Algeria ended in favour of the islanders, who secured a 29-23 victory to round up the podium finishers.
A resilient Angola side battled from behind to beat Nigeria 25-20 to conclude the teams qualifying for the 2025 Handball World Cup in Germany.
Kenya was pooled in tricky Group B alongside Guinea, Tunisia, and Cameroon 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.
Relegated
At the lower stage, Congo extended Kenya’s unraveling campaign on Sunday, January 25, 2026, in a 37-26 defeat to force them down the tournament’s pecking order.
A narrow 33-30 loss to Benin on Thursday, January 29, 2026, further compounded Kenya’s struggles, with a sixth straight defeat inflicted.
Benin’s 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 team’s saving grace in the tournament ultimately came in the 15th position play-off, where they came up against fellow minnows, Uganda.
Christopher Mayende spared Kenya’s blushes against the East Africans, scoring nine of his 11 shots to seal a narrow win that saw Kenya finish above Uganda.