▪️Kenya’s boxing fraternity mourns the death of two-time Olympian Wanjau
May 29, 2026
The final bell finally rung on John “Duran”Wanjau, one of Kenya’s most successful featherweights of the golden generation era.
A product of the famous granary of Kenya’s leading boxers, Nakuru ABC, Wanjau passed on after a long illness, according to reliable sources.
Among the first to share their message of condolences were his former teammates at the defunct Breweries Boxing Club, Los Angeles Olympics bronze medallist Ibrahim “,Surf” Bilali who was with Wanjau in the 1984 Olympics, Hosea Maina, Francis Olando, Athanus Nzau and their team manager James Ondimu.
“It’s so painful losing our boxer Wanjau, our sincere condolences to the family of this boxing icon who served us and the national team with distinction,” Ondimu told boxersworld.co.ke.
“From God we came and to him we shall return, with a very heavy heart l have received sad news this morning of the passing on of our dear brother John Wanjau,” said Hosea Maina when breaking the news of Wanjau’s death in the bottlers Whatsapp Forum.
Born June 3, 1958, Wanjau passed through the hands of coach Peter Morris at Nakuru’s Madison Square Garden before national team coach Charles Anjimbi recruited him at Breweries.
Wanjau sprang into prominence in the late 70s, making his intentions known in the 1979 East and Central Africa Boxing Championships at the City Hall. He won a gold medal in the featherweight division.
He twice represented Kenya in the Olympic Games, first in 1984 in Los Angeles, USA and at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, losing 4-1 to Regilio Tuur of the Netherlands in the second of the competition. Pitted against Hungary’s tough Laslo Szoke in the first round, Wanjau squeezed a 3-2 points win.
At the Los Angeles Olympics, Wanjau lost via a controversial quarter-finals third round stoppage to USA’s Meldrick Taylor having seen off Ghana’s Christian Kpakpo and Tanzania’s Rajabu Hussein.
“I was shocked by the unfair decision, the doctor checked my right eye he said it’s okay but the referee suddenly stopped the fight,” Wanjau told me on return home.
In Seoul, I was with Wanjau and the rest of the inspired Kenyan boxers who performed very well in the South Korean capital city where Kenya won two medals, Africa’s first ever gold medal by a black African Robert Wangila and Chris Sande’s bronze medal.
Among the international matches at home I covered Wanjau in action was in the 1987 FESCAABA Championships in which Kenya put behind their disastrous show in the King’s Cup championship in Bangkok where they won only three bronze to regain the regional title with a record haul of nine gold and three silver medals at KICC in May.
For the first since the inception of the regional tournament in 1971, all the 12 Kenyan boxers made it to the final.
“Our sound victory is just a sign of things to come in the African Games,” said a smiling head coach Peter Mwarangu while his assistant Charles Anjimbi was in cloud nine.
“This is the proudest moment in my coaching career,” said Anjimbi, the founder of Dallas Boxing Club.
The ABA’s public relations officer David Njenga aka Binaisa was in an ecstatic mood.
“I will drink the whole night, I’m so happy,” said the man with a mini airport on his head.
Wanjau was one of Kenya’s nine gold medallists, putting on a textbook performance to outpoint Gerry Legras of the Seychelles. Other gold medallists were light-flyweight Maurice “Kawata” Maina, flyweight Daniel “Dante” Mwangi, bantamweight Steve “Dempsey” Mwema, lightweight and skipper Patrick “Mont” Waweru, light-welterweight David “DK” Kamau, welterweight Robert “Aruba” Wangila, middleweight Martin “Nyoka” Ojuang and light-heavyweight Joseph “Nyundo” Akhasamba.
Losing finalists were light-middleweight Alex “Osambla” Oduor, heavyweight James “Demosh” Omondi and super-heavyweight Chris “Marciano” Odera who lost to Uganda’s Dodovic Owiny. Odera defeated Tanzania’s Willy Isangura in the semis.
In addition to Owiny, other two Ugangan gold medallists were light-middleweight Franco Wanyama and heavyweight Fred Kaddu.
Wanyama, points winner over Oduor, was named the Best Boxer. Uganda had six finalists and finished second followed by Malawi, Tanzania and the Seychelles.
Tanzania’s two finalists, Anthony Mwangonda and Jacob Mabodo, lost to Kenyans Maina and Mwema respectively.
Rest in Power John Wanjau
📸John Wanjau is declared the winner over Gerry Legras of the Seychelles in the featherweight division.
boxersworld.co.ke
