Kenyan women hoopers: Best at home, absent abroad
By Bosco Magare, February 8, 2025Kenya’s top women’s basketball teams boast a wealth of talent, yet the national team continues to struggle on the international stage.
As the 2024–2025 Kenya National Basketball League (KNBL) season unfolds, questions arise over player selection and coaching decisions, with critics pointing fingers at the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) for sidelining key players and experienced tacticians.
Despite dominating the local league, standout stars like MVP Betty Kananu and seasoned coach Ben Oluoch have been left out of the national squad, raising concerns over the country’s ability to compete at the highest level.
In an interview with People Sport, coach Oluoch lamented that despite KNBL women’s Premier League teams having a wealth of talented players for recruitment into the national team to compete in international competitions, the sport’s governing body, Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF), continues to sideline potential players and technical team personnel, such as team coaches, who are capable of successfully steering national teams in global tournaments.
MVP sidelined
“Imagine, despite KPA and Equity Hawks having the bulk of players in the country’s national women’s team, one of our outstanding players, Betty Kananu, who was named the Premier League Most Valuable Player (MVP), is currently not part of the national team participating in the Afrobasket 2025 qualifiers Zone 5 tournament in Cairo, Egypt,” Oluoch pointed out.
Sounding palpably angry during the interview he further complained, “KPA head coach Anthony Ojuku and I, as Equity tactician, steered our teams to second and first-place victories, respectively. I was also named and received the Coach of the Year (COYA) award. So why did KBF snub me from heading the national women’s team as coach, assisted by my colleague Ojuku?”
Veteran coach Emmanuel Ochieng echoed these sentiments, specifically questioning Kananu’s exclusion. “How does KBF justify leaving out Kananu, Kenya’s top three-point shooter? Her absence contributed to our losses against South Sudan and Uganda,” he argued.
Oluoch described Kananu as one of the must-watch players in the KNBL season, highlighting her versatility and leadership on the court.
Disciplinary issues
However, KBF fixtures secretary Joseph Amoko defended the federation’s decisions, stating that the Kenya Basketball Coaches Commission failed to propose Kananu for national duty. He also cited disciplinary concerns as a factor in excluding Kananu, along with Rachel Odhiambo and Valerie Kemunto.
“Some of these players left the residential camp to attend the Betika Bingwafest Mountain Edition in Meru last month. That affected their chances of making the final squad,” Amoko disclosed.
Commenting on team Kenya’s performance at the recent FIBA Afrobasket that was staged in Caro, Egypt, Amoko acknowledged that Uganda had a superior preparation strategy, integrating four foreign players, including an American duo.
“South Sudan was a team Kenya should have beaten, but we struggled with turnovers and execution lapses. Also, managing and motivating female players is crucial in achieving victories,” Amoko added.
On her end KBF Secretary General Angela Luchivya, speaking from Cairo, agreed that Uganda and South Sudan were better prepared for the Afrobasket qualifiers. “You could see how much it meant to them; they celebrated every win because their goal was to beat Kenya,” she said.
Regarding Kananu’s omission, Luchivya cited her age as a consideration.
Young guns
“Kananu is now either 33 or 34. Are we going to keep relying on aging players, or should we focus on building a youthful squad through structured development programmes?” she posed.
She also addressed disciplinary concerns, stating, “I won’t single out Kananu. We have several talented but indisciplined players. Unfortunately, discipline is non-negotiable for national team selection.”
On Oluoch’s exclusion despite his accolades, Luchivya reassured that his time would come. “We’ll give him an opportunity in the future. As for Ojuku, he was an assistant coach in 2021, but we were uncertain whether his KPA work schedule would allow him to commit this time,” she said.
Despite Kenya’s struggles, Oluoch remains confident in his team’s abilities and identified key Equity Hawks players to watch, including co-captain Melissa Akinyi, Liz Okumu, Rachel Akinyi, Jemimah Night, Maryann Nyagaki, Valerie Kemunto, and Rita Aluoch.