With the Africa Zone 3 Championships just days away the Kenyan head coach is strategizing quietly with his team for the tough job ahead
Kenya’s national boxing team head coach, Musa Benjamin, may not be an introvert but he’s not boisterous either.
In his typical nature, he remains a man of a few words even ahead of this historic and one of his toughest ever assignments since his appointment as the national team head coach in 2019.
Musa and his technical team are playing cards close to their chests as they polish up their preparations for the eagerly awaited Africa Zone 3 Boxing Championships scheduled for October 16-25 at the Kasarani Indoor Arena in Kenya’s capital city Nairobi.
Since he ventured into coaching in 1995, this is one of Musa’s most difficult hurdle not to mention his mixture of experienced boxers and rookies for the Zone 3 Championships.
“With many debutants, it isn’t going to be a walk in the park,” Musa, a Star-3 coach, told boxersworld.co.ke in an interview avoiding to reveal much on his game plan.8
“We expect stiff competition from the defending champions DRC, Cameroon, Uganda and Tanzania but no disrespect to the other nations of course.”
The Kenyans have been undergoing rigorous non-residential training at their usual Mathare Depot venue.
“Early residential training camp would have been great but all the same we’re ready for the Zone 3 Championship,” says Musa, adding: “We would be able to have fully monitored three sessions in a day in a residential camp.”
Is the former Undugu aka Senti boxer having sleepless nights or butterflies in his stomach as he ponders the heavy burden on his shoulders guiding the national team for the first time at home in a major international championship?
“Zone 3 taking place at home obviously adds to the pressure and tension but we must do our work and make the country proud,” he says cautiously but with resolute confidence taking into account they will be fully supported by the home fans.
Apart from the massive backing from Kenyan fans, Musa will parade the largest ever national team to represent Kenya in an international event since Kenya’s first participation in an international contest in 1963 against Sudan as an independent country. This in itself is an added advantage in his ambition to lead the team to victory in the highly anticipated Africa Zone 3 Championships. From every indication Kenya are the red-hot favourites to lift the overall crown with 30 boxers to represent the national team in the Zone 3 Championships.
The Kenyan head coach has yet to announce his final team for the Big Party but it’s obvious regulars such as Africa light-middleweight champion Boniface Mugunde, African Games middleweight gold medallist Edwin Okong’o, heavyweight Peter “The Beast” Abuti, bantamweight Shaffi Bakari, captain Liz “Warhorse” Andiego, Amina Martha, Lencer Akinyi, Emily Juma, Friza Anyango, Veronica “Pioneer” Mbithe and Abednego Kyalo will comprise the team to carry Kenya’s flag in the 10-day event which will also be Livestreamed daily.
Kenya will parade two teams each in men and women. Experienced Lorna Kusa has been recalled to add more stability in the team. Together with Andiego, the duo are the longest-serving internationals having first represented the national team in the 2010 Women’s World Championships.
This is Kenya’s third participation in the Africa Zone 3 Championships.
In their maiden appearance in 2021 in Kinshasa, DR Congo, they won one gold by heavyweight Elly Ajowi, five silver and seven bronze medals. Their richest harvest in this regional event was in 2022 when they won 18 medals – six gold, five silver and seven bronze with Andiego, light-welterweight Teresia Wanjiru and welterweight Everline Akinyi making history as the first Kenyan female gold medallists in an international boxing tournament.
So far arrangements for the Zone 3 Championships are going on smoothly with various committees formed for specific functions under the supervision of Zone 3 Secretary-General Lukello Willilo who is also the Boxing Federation of Tanzania President.
Whether the Kenyan boxers will be inspired through incentives by President William Ruto is not yet known but boxing being the most successful sport after athletics at the big stage, there’s no reason why the boxers should not be given the same treatment the footballers enjoyed during the CHAN tournament. They also need the affordable houses.
The 18 medallists at the 2022 Africa Zone 3 Championships in Kinshasa, DR Congo.
*Gold Medalists*
David Karanja
(Flyweight)
Samuel Njau
(Featherweight)
Shaffi Bakari Hassan
(Bantamweight)
Elizabeth Andiego
(Light-heavyweight)
Everlyne Akinyi
(Welterweight)
Teresia Wanjiru
(Light-welterweight)
*Silver Medallists*
Christine Ongare
(Flyweight)
Stacy Ayoma
(Lightweight)
Lorna Kusa
(Light-middleweight)
Victor Odhiambo (Light-welterweight)
Elizabeth Akinyi
(Middleweight)
*Bronze Medallists*
Ann Wanjiru
(Flyweight)
Alice Waiyego
(Bantamweight)
Amina Martha
(Featherweight)
Boniface Mugunde
(Light-middleweight)
Francis Denga
(Light-heavyweight)
Nick Okoth
Lightweight
Elly Ajowi
Super-heavyweight
*Photo designs by Duncan Kuria aka Sugar Ray*
