Kenyans at the ongoing Afcon action in Cameroon
By Gladys Midecha
Kenya’s national men football team Harambee Stars could be missing in action at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament, but Kenya still has some representation at the continental showpiece.
Top on the lists of Kenyans running the show at the 33rd edition of the tournament is centre referee Peter Waweru and linesman Gilbert Cheruiyot.
Waweru is a household name when it comes to refereeing. He is a PHD holder and Masters in pure Mathematics and a lecturer at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology.
He started football officiating in the lower leagues of Kenya in 2011 then joined the premier league in 2013.
He was listed as a FIFA referee in 2017 and at the ongoing continental showpiece, he was in charge of a group match pitting Gabon and Comoros where Gabon emerged winners.
Cheruiyot on the other hand has worked his way up to become one of the most respected match officials in Africa.
He ventured into match officiating in 2008 but began his continental tour in 2015 when he officiated at the CAF under 17 tournament in Niger and has never looked back as he has been considered for several continental and global events.
The 37-year old is also a teacher at Moi Academy in Baringo and also featured at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He was also in charge of the match between Gabon and Comorros.
Another Kenyan at the showpiece is scribe Collins Okinyo who has been appointed as a Confederation of African Football (CAF Communications Officer for the Afcon event where his roles entail organizing pre-match and post-match interviews and other media operations.
He has been guiding other scribes on how to conduct interviews with the players and coaching staff of different teams and avails players for interviews before and after matches.
There is also a big team of producers and cameramen from Kenya helping with the live broadcasting of all the 52 matches at the competition.
