Kenyan match officials have been selected to officiate at the upcoming Rugby Africa Sevens pre-qualifiers in Mauritius this weekend.

The match official consists of referees Duncan Kioko and Victor Oduor, as well as Alfred Okwemba serving as the Match Commissioner and George Mbaye as the Citing Commissioner.

KRU congratulates Referees

The Kenya Rugby Union congratulated the quarter on their selection and wished them success in their officiating duties.

“Kenyan match officials will be on duty at this weekend’s Rugby Africa Sevens pre-qualifiers in Mauritius.” reads a statement by KRU.

“They are Duncan Kioko, Victor Oduor (Referees), Alfred Okwemba (Match Commissioner) and George Mbaye (Citing Commissioner),” the statement concludes.

Kenyan match officials will be on duty at this weekend’s Rugby Africa Sevens pre-qualifiers in Mauritius. They are Duncan Kioko, Victor Oduor (Referees), Alfred Okwemba (Match Commissioner) and George Mbaye (Judicial Commissioner) pic.twitter.com/DDGBWGtZMp

— Kenya Rugby (@OfficialKRU) June 23, 2023

Kioko, a business finance professional from Machakos County, has been steadily climbing the officiating ranks since he took up refereeing in 2015.

Kioko recently officiated in the final of Zimbabwe’s prestigious Nedbank Rugby Challenge Cup between Old Hararians and Old Georgians at the Harare Sports Club.

He also served as an assistant referee in the 2023 Kenya Cup final and has officiated in various tournaments including the Great Rift 10s Cup final, England’s Rosslyn Park HSBC National 7s, and a leg of the Ugandan 7s circuit.

Referee Oduor

Oduor, a librarian at Ngecho Secondary School, brings a wealth of experience to the team. He has officiated in over 100 matches in the Kenya Cup and has international experience, having refereed in the Rugby Africa Cup and last year’s Africa’s Rugby World Cup qualifiers.

Oduor holds the World Rugby Level 3 Accredited Match Official status and serves as the Secretary of Rift Valley Rugby Referees Society.

He is also involved with the Rugby Africa Match Officials panel, World Rugby Match Officials Educator, and serves as the Kenya Rugby Union‘s Regional Development Officer for the South Rift region.

Oduor has previously officiated at the World Rugby Junior Trophy and various Rugby Africa continental fixtures.

The Qualifier event will take place at the Labourdonnais Sports Grounds, Mauritius between 24 and 25 June 2023 with the main event set to take place in Zimbabwe.

Teams set for the pre-qualifiers include Mauritius, Ghana, Senegal, Botswana, Cameroon, Burundi, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Lesotho, and DR Congo.

Twelve teams will participate in each tournament. Teams are seeded according to their performances in the previous championship.

The top eight teams from the previous championship will enter the main tournament, while the remaining twelve will enter the qualifier.

The winner will qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and the second and third-placed teams qualifying for the 2024 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament. In addition, the top two teams will qualify for the 2024 Challenger Series.