Kenya's Lionesses win Africa Women's Sevens bronze; Uganda take title and SVNS 3 place

Kenya's women's sevens team, the Lionesses, finished third at the Africa Women's Sevens in Nairobi on 8 November 2026, beating Zimbabwe 27-7 in the bronze final at the RFUEA Grounds after losing their semi-final 19-14 to Uganda, Rugby Africa's official tournament report and results show.

The semi-final defeat ended Kenya's bid for a place in World Rugby's HSBC SVNS 3. Uganda went on to beat Tunisia 33-0 in the final, winning the continental title for the first time and qualifying for SVNS 3.

The tournament was played on 7 and 8 November, with pool games followed by knockout rounds. Hosts Kenya were in Pool B with Tunisia and Ghana; Uganda were in Pool C with Madagascar, Mauritius and Burkina Faso; Pool A was South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Rwanda.

Kenya were runners-up a year earlier, losing the 2025 final 22-0 to South Africa at the same ground, Citizen Digital reported on 16 November 2025. This time South Africa, the defending champions, went out 24-17 to Uganda in the quarter-finals.

Uganda raced to a 12-0 lead in the semi-final through two early tries, the first scored by Grace Nabagala from an offload by captain Peace Lekuru. Freshia Oduor then finished a quick line break and Janet Okello broke away from the defence, and Kenya led 14-12.

Kenya were still ahead and in possession when the hooter sounded. Uganda kept the ball alive on the final play and Lekuru, the Player of the Tournament, crashed over for the winning try. K24 Digital reported that the try came from a quick-tapped penalty.

It was Uganda's first win over Kenya since 2023, the Standard reported. That year Uganda beat the Lionesses to win the Safari Sevens, which Mozzart Sport reported was their last sevens title before this one.

In the bronze final, co-captain Stella Wafula scored two tries, and Nelly Chikombe, Sinaida Mokaya and Kathrine Amonde scored one each. Chiwoniso Mabika scored Zimbabwe's only try, which was converted.

The Kenya Rugby Union named Wafula and Sheila Chajira as co-captains when it announced the squad on 4 November, with the stated aim of African gold and HSBC SVNS 3 qualification. The head coach is Simon Odongo.

Kenya topped Pool B, beating Ghana 25-7 and Tunisia 19-0 on 7 November, and beat Mauritius 52-0 in the quarter-finals before meeting Uganda.

Uganda did not concede a point in Pool C, beating Burkina Faso 45-0, Mauritius 46-0 and Madagascar 41-0. In the final, winger Lydia Namabiro scored a hat-trick, and Racheal Mufuwa and Gertrude Kateesa also scored.

Tunisia reached the final despite their pool defeat by Kenya. They beat Ghana 21-0, Madagascar 31-7 in the quarter-finals and Zimbabwe 22-10 in the second semi-final, with two tries from Zahra Haddaji and one each from Zahra Chtioui and Yassmin Korbi. Mabika and Robyn Mhembere scored for Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe beat Zambia 12-5 in the quarter-finals and finished fourth, up from seventh at the previous competition. Zambia, who beat South Africa 19-14 in Pool A, beat them again 17-12 in the fifth-place final.

The Standard and RugbyPass report that SVNS 3 will be played in Dubai.

The final standings were Uganda, Tunisia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, with Zambia fifth and South Africa sixth.