KENYA DISMISS NAMIBIA

Kenya scored a historic 30-26 win over Namibia in a Rugby World Cup qualifier match at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa ground to go top of Group 8 table.
The win came after five defeats since 1993 with two of these in Nairobi. Namibia first defeated Kenya 60-9 on July 7, 1993 in Nairobi. This was followed with a 32-10 defeat on August 16, 2003. On September 11, 2004, Namibia beat Kenya 65-7 before a 84-12 win on May 27.
So it was with a resigned look on their faces that rugby fans trooped to the RFUEA ground to see what made Namibia such hot property.
Explosive Impala winger Dan Weku was a handful for the Namibians and crossed the line twice. The first came in the fifth minute and his second in the 18th minute. This was the same player who walked off injured in the Elgon Cup match against Uganda three weeks ago, which Kenya lost. Debutant Mark

TWO OF A KIND

The story of how a Los Angeles father desired / to have top class tennis playing children has been well documented for all those who care to know. For the uninitiated here is how it goes: Richard Williams' most earthly desire was to sire and nurture children who would rise to conquer the world of tennis like the proverbial colossus. He tried it with his first three daughters but they 'disappointed' him. So he and wife Brandi went back to the drawing board and decided to give it another try! They sired another duo that would eat tennis, walk tennis, sleep tennis and talk tennis in a way the world had I)ever seen. He scripted the story of the 'ghetto Cinderellas' muscling their way into the 'lily-white world of tennis' and predicted wildly from the beginning, when he embarked on his home made coaching programme on the public courts of Los Angeles, that his daughters would soon rise to be tbe top two players in the world. That is the origin of the magical names of Venus and Serena Williams! Between them the siblings have won more grand slams and made more money' than one could ever imagine. Somewhere in Kenya, a certain Mbugua Ndiki was reading not exactly from the same, but similar script, albeit differently. He introduced his two daughters to tennis at relatively tender ages and literally sacrificed his entire life doing everything possible that a father would, with the hope of seeing them become the best tennis players of their generation in Kenya. If Esther and Rahab Mbugua are Kenya's version of America's Serena and Venus Williams, then Ndiki is Kenya's own answer to their father, Richard Williams. But that is as far as the similarities go. Whether the two Kenyan ladies are the greatest tennis players of their generation remains debatable. Whether their achievements, on and off-pitch, comes anywhere near those of the Williams' sisters is another thing altogether. But in bringing up the two daughters and initiating them into tennis, Ndiki would have competed shoulder to shoulder with the Williams if, at least, the setting was in some serious sporting environment.
Ndiki's love for tennis stems from what he refers to as 'professional accident'. It was in 1979 when his employer, the Central Bank of Kenya; introduced the policy of supporting and encouraging its employees to engage in leisure sports as a steam-venting measure.
As fate would have it, Ndiki found himself drifting towards tennis for obvious reasons: his advanced age did not allow him the luxury of any other sport. And even in his new found love, his level of involvement was limited; he could only play it as a recreation. Nothing more.
With the zeal of an evangelist, he promptly joined the Public Service Club after the bank's decree; he slogged in many hours, found the sport so enjoyable and refreshing that he decided he was not going to have the fun alone. The only regret, though, was that he started playing in his adult life. "Many are the instances when I regretted why I did not start it earlier. But it is better late than never," he reminisces.
In spite of his late induction, Ndiki participated in a number of national championships which he achieved little, although he had some consolation in the fact that his involvement was in the true manner of speaking, for leisure.
In 1981 when his daughter Estherwas born, just like the giraffe that sees far, as Jaramogi would tell you, and like borrowing from Williams' script, he took it upon himself to introduce, nurture and develop his daughter into a tennis star; may be, to start and finish off where he himself had failed. Rahab's arrival, eight years later, and at an age when the older sister was already averse with the tennis racket, only confirmed the former clerical officer's made-up mind that the infant would follow in her sibling's footsteps. And she, too, did not disappoint.
Upon retirement from employment, Mbugua devoted more of his time to tennis and would even competitively play against his daughters, more so the older one, who had already mastered the art and would at times give him a run for his money every time they tried it in the court.
The opening Sadili Oval Centre was the best thing to happen to Kenyan tennis, and Mbugua in particular, wondered loudly why the idea had not come earlier. "I would shuttle from one court to another looking for a coach to teach my daughters the ropes, wasting a lot of time and resources in the process," he recalls. "but that changed immediately Sadili opened its doors. Sadili offers young people a chance and many promising players have benefited from their numerous schemes of tennis clinics.
It has revolutionised the development of the sport in the past several years. Other than giving the upcoming players the basics, the institution also offers scholarships for academic pursuits to the aspiring tennis talents to study in overseas institutions. Mbugua's first daughter, Esther, is one of the beneficiaries; she is currently at Virginia IntermontUniversity.
Away from tennis, Mbugua.displays the rare characteristic of aggression and self-drive. He's not one to waste an opportunity whenever it presents itself, and no amount of challenge will stop him from achieving his desired aim, however insurmountable. He has authored a boor< titled Mama Can't Hurt Me, which focus on the social challenges facing Kenya's rural and urban poor.
A lonely rural girl with a strict Christian upbringing called Wairimu, hungers for the thrill of urban life, ventures into the city against the advice of Samuel, a young and rigid Christian, who is also her secret admirer.
She gets pregnant and her strict Christian parents, unable to stand the anathema of a bastard child, evict her from home and she heads back to the city where she is immediately confronted with the grim realities of city-life. She comes face to face with vile acts of betrayal, raw greed senseless abuse, pain and ends up in jail.
"Mama Can't Hurt Me is a reality-oriented book which depicts the challenges that confront the youth in everyday life," he explains.
So how did he manage it? "Interest and hard work," he says courteously.
His biggest desire, however, is to see his daughters scale the heights of success in tennis, but he feels the Kenya Lawn TennisAssociation has let them, and many others, off the cliff.
"I have been on the tennis scene for a long time and I am yet to see the impact of the association in as far as the growth and development oftennis is concerned," he laments, with signs of bitterness written all over his face. "Whatever my daughters have achieved is because of God, their determination, my input and Sadili's magnanimity."
The once-popular local tournaments like Kenya Open and Davies Cup are no more, thanks to apathy, indifference and lack of common sense from the officials. "These tournaments were big in size and prize money and received entries from east, central and even southern Africa, but they are no more." Lack of a proper development agenda is also silently killing the sport, "the link between the seniors and juniors is non existent. While there are semblances of competitions among the juniors, we're left wondering where these juniors will go when they come off age."
"Sports bodies should exist in the interest of our gallant sports men and women, no more, no less," he says, maintaining that parents whose children play tennis have been forced to facilitate their children even when they are engaged in national duty. "I personally have been forced to buy air tickets and kit my daughters even when they are carrying the national flag. This is notfair."

THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

"I fought the mother in February, now I have come to face the child," Zimbabwean Monallsa Sibanda declared soon after arriving In Kenya for the July 30 non-title fight against Fatuma Zarika.
"I was not in anyway incensed by her reference to me as a child," Zarika replied later after flattening her at a lightening speed in the second round of their sic round non-title bout.
"In my mind I had resolved to make her feel what It really is to fight the real Fatuma Zarika, whether a child or not." Early In the year, the tough talking Zimbabwean caused an upset of unmitigated proportion when she reduced Kenya's female boxing sensation Gonjestlna Achieng to an object of scorn. She not only made monkeys of her, but also overstretched the Kenyan to a photo finish of what had been billed as Gonje's easiest middleweight fight. Gonje's ego was bruised and the fans shocked, coming days after the Kenyan had easily dismissed Argentine Gullamlna Fernandez to win the WBF middleweight belt.
But It took Zarika just two rounds to zipOtula, who lost to Ngaruiya at the same the mouth of the talkative Zimbabwean.
Zarika's road to stardom in a sport dominated by her compatriot Conjestina has been slow. Unlike Conje who has carved a niche fighting locally, Zarika has made three forays into Europe in her quest for world belts. The trips have been relatively quiet compared to the media glitz that Conje has hogged over the last couple of years. Zarika fight against Sibanda was organised by Jabjab Promotions, and was a strategic scheme to bring her to the limelight she so much deserved and it worked. Zarika has finally passed the entry exams to the high table of local pugilists in pursuit of glory at the highest boxing level. The period after her demolition of Sibanda has seen her hog and slog in racy news reviews, interviews. She currently involved with talks with several corporate organisations with the possibility of landing a sponsorship deal.
"The fight (with Sibanda) was good for me. Jabjab Promotions' approach was amazing and I am happy that I didn't let them and Kenyans down," she says.
In a heart-warming show of sportsmanship after the fight, Sibanda and Zarika attended a breakfast show on Metro FM where the Zimbabwean insisted that she was misunderstood when she referred to Fatuma as' a child. "What I meant was that Conje is the queen of Kenyan ~oxing and Zarika is the princess."
Things however have not been so easy for the 23-year old, Zarika. Her WBC fight with Stephanie Bianchini slated for Italy last May aborted, so is the other one for September 22, where she had been slotted to challenge Sharon Anyos in another WBC title. These lucrative bouts were not meant to be. She had to withdraw from the Italy fight to face Ina Menzer for the WIBF title in Germany. The Australian date is now officially off, and Esther Shoughton has replaced Fatuma for that fight.
Reasons for these cancellations come from the most unlikely place: her corner The bad blood between her trainer and manager, -which has resulted in her losing up to US$12,OOO (Sh900. 000) purse for both WBC fights.
WBC Secretariat's Jill Diamond puts it aptly, "This sort of things happen often in boxing and the problem is that it is the boxer who gets KO'd, not the manager or trainer." wec has been impressed with Kenya's handling of the April 1 middleweight bout between American Yvone Reis and Conje, in which the American won in a unanimous point verdict. And now Zarika's saga and her mentors is doing no good for Kenya's boxing. .
"We needed to know who truly is Zarika's representative as we were receiving emails from a number of people each saying they manage the boxer. A wec fight is very costly to organise and last minute pullouts are a no-go for the standards that WBC wants to maintain," Jill adds. The good news is that Zarika has now formerly signed a management contract with a Nairobi­based promoter Caleb Kuya. However the terms I of the agreements are not favourable to Kenyan promoters, and unless re­negotiated may provide Zarika with a killer punch that no opponent will ever throw her way. According to the terms of the contract, no promoter can feature Zarika in unless they part with close to US$ 8,000 (Sh600, OOO)! No one has ever earned that kind of money in Kenya and it may take lo"ng before she gets a promoter willing to pay that kind of money so that Kenyans may see her in the ring again.
**************
Meanwhile Jabjab Promotions have confirmecHhat Yvonne Reiss will fight Leaticia Robinson in a yet to be identified world title fight on December 2 in Nairobi. The fight will be an all women card with five African women boxers facing
, off five Americans boxers. Terri Blair, Michelle Lynden, Angel McNamara, Janaya Davis and Shadina Pennybaker have all agreed to make the trip to Nairobi.
They will face off against some Africa's best female boxers, Conjestina Achieng, Monalisa Sibanda (Zimbabwe), Esther Phiri (Zambia), Fiona Tugume (Uganda) and Ghanaian Yarkor Chavez. Plans to include Kenya's Fatuma Zarika on the bout card are still in progress.
Yvonne makes her second trip to Kenya after winning the WBC Middleweight title against Conjestina earlier this year.
"The event will be the biggest boxing event ever to happen in Africa involving women boxers". Jabjab Promotions spokesperson Ema Christine says. "The fight will be televised on WENPPV (World Events Network Pay-Per-View), an Ohio based company that broadcasts sports events on Mobile phones, PDA's that use 3G technology and via the internet. WENPPV are also in an advanced stage to invite Laila Ali as a special ringside commentator."

Swede wins Tusker Open
Swedish Johan Axgren sank a two footer for a birdie at the last green for a start to emerge the winner of the Tusker Kenya Open Golf Championship at Karen Country Club. Axgren becomes the first player from Sweden to win the Tusker Open and the first European player to claim the championships since Lee James victory in the event in 2002. He said winning the Tusker Open had given him more confidence ahead of the next tournament in his quest for the main European card. “It feels great winning this event. For us in the Challenge Tour it is the most important event.”

Not so new faces at KVF

The Kenya Volleyball Federation has new officials. During the federation’s election held March, all the incumbent national officials were shown the door. Waithaka Kioni was elected chairman unopposed after his would have been opponent pulled out at the last minute. Kioni is making a comeback at the helm after his resignation from the same set in 2000 due personal problems. However, the main casualty of the election was the long serving secretary general Jacob Owiti whose 48 votes fell short of stopping Dan Wanyama assuming the mantle with 82 votes. Other elected officials are Martin Makokha (vice-chairman), Joseph Tanui (2nd vice chairman), Moses Mbuthia (Deputy Secretary General), Kenneth Tanui (treasurer), Joseph Murithi (deputy Treasurer), Walter Otieno (Organising Secretary), Ismael Chege (Deputy Organising secretary). Lillian Waweru and Dina Keter were elected committee members.

                 New national swimming records
They may have been journeymen to the 18th edition of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, but the swimming duo of Amar Shah and David Dunford has consolation that history will treat them kindly. They flew back home happy, at least, that they had managed to make up for their poor performance by entering the record books. They won no medals, but they compensated for that by setting three new national records. Dunford clocked 59.27 to beat the one-minute barrier in the 100m backstroke which was an improvement to the previous mark of 1:00.36 seconds. Although he finished 18th overall in the 50m breaststroke, Shah registered time of 30.84 seconds erased the old time of 31.57 seconds from the record books. He followed it up when he set another national record in the 200m individual medley heat. Although he finished seventh, his time of 2:17:23 was an improvement of Kamal Shah’s 2:18:58 set in Kuala Lumpur’s Commonwealth Games in 1998.
“This was fantastic display from our athletes whose international progress is hampered by poor and limited facilities,” said John Aston, the chairman of the Nairobi Swimming Association (NASA). Swimmers face many obstacles in their training regimen, with time being the major one. “Any good swimmer must train for 25-30 hours per week if he has to get to the top,” he said, but our swimmers hardly train for 10 hours a week. This is far from making them competitive.”

Stars for ACN 2008
The national soccer team, Harambee Stars, start their 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign in September this year. They play their first and last matches at home against Eritrea and Angola respectively. The first match is against Eritrea on September 2, 2006; they wind up their qualifying matches of Group six against Angola at home on September 8, 2007. The other team in the group is the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland.
African football governing body, CAF, has divided the teams in fourteen groups of four teams each. Winners in each group will automatically qualify to Africa’s football showcase to be hosted in Ghana in 2008.   
Harambee Stars will be hoping that the new found tranquillity within the national Football Federation successful navigates the team to the finals to be hosted in Accra, Ghana this time round.
Kenya qualifying campaign for the 2006 event got stuck in the wake of fierce power play, technical gerrymandering, player blackmail and administrative ineptitude that rocked the federation in the factional fights over who between Dan Omino and Moni Wekesa was the legitimate chief executive.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s representative to the CAF Champions League Tusker was eliminated in the second round by holders Al Ahly of Egypt. The national champions lost 5-0 in aggregate (0-2 home, 0-3 away) to kiss goodbye the continent’s most lucrative club competitions. Earlier on debutants World Hope failed to make an impression in their first ever international outing when they were eliminated by Uganda Revenue Authority in the Confederations Cup.

New rules for Cyclists

The Kenya Cycling Association (KCA) is putting in place new rules to control what it calls “mushrooming of cycling events” some of which it says have been used ‘to exploit the riders by promoters seeking personal gain.”
Secretary general Charles Mose says they have made it mandatory for event organisers to avail a clearing certificate from the association’s secretariat to the traffic commandant of the area where the event is taking place for the latter to provide the necessary services.
‘‘We are grateful to race promoters who have supported the sport through sponsorship but in the same breath condemn those unscrupulous ones who have exploited cyclists for their own gains without compensating the athletes adequately,” Mose told Sports Monthly.
He criticised sponsors who are asking for hefty registration fees before entering athletes in their events while offering a pittance as prize money, something he said must stop. Some sponsors charge as much as Sh2,000 per event.

NETBALL
Kenya ready for African tourney

Kenya will send two teams to this year’s African Cup of Nations netball tournament to be held in August in Namibia. The Kenya Netball Association chairman Rose Peggie Ajusa says the country will be represented by the men’s and women’s teams who will also do duty in the East African Club Championships to be held in Dar-es-Salaam the following month.
The association is in the process of commencing visits to primary schools with the aim of getting netball played from grassroots while targeting those between the ages of 9 to 15 years. “This will keep the game evergreen up to the national level,” she said.
Last year, 18 teams took part in the East African Championships in Kenya in which Zanzibar’s KMKM emerged winners after beating Nairobi City Council.

Azar Anwar wins 54th Safari Rally

 The 2005 Kenya National Rally Champion Azar Anwar is the winner of the 2006 KCB Safari Rally.  He emerged victorious after he and his co-driver brought home their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in a time of 3 hours 50 minutes 50 seconds.
Baldev Chager and Farouk Yusuf finished second in their Subaru Imprezza in 3:53:39 while last year’s Motorsport Personality of the year Carl Tundo and Jim Jessop came third in their Subaru Imprezza in 3:59:39.
The victory propels Azar to the supremacy of the FIA Africa championships race, tying with Belgian Patrick Emontspool.  His younger brother, Asad, finished the rally in seventh position in a time of 4:11:21, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution which the champion will drive in the remaining rounds of the continental championship.
Azar’s win comes in the wake of surviving an air mishap in the northern town of Lokichoggio late February.  He was on a business trip to Southern Sudan when the  aircraft they were on board developed mechanical problems soon after take off. “The pilot realised that the aircraft had mechanical problems after take off and decided to re-direct the plane to the  Kenyan town of Lokichoggio for an emergency landing because of the airstrip’s superior emergency landing and medical facilities.’’
‘‘The pilot undertook all the procedures that appertain to emergency landing including off-loading of the fuel from the tanks and meticulously brought it to a screeching halt on the tarmac. What followed was a scramble out of the plane.”