This archive report was first published on 1 September 2019.
On September 1, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta congratulated the national women volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, on their exceptional performance at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco.
However, in his statement, President Kenyatta made an error by referring to Malkia Strikers as the African champions, when in fact, Cameroon were the reigning champions.
Malkia Strikers had retained their gold at the continental championship in Rabat after a thrilling 3-1 (12-25,25-15,26-24,25-21) victory over Cameroon, which was perfect revenge for the team after losing to the West Africans in the final of the Africa Nations Championship in Egypt in July.
President Kenyatta noted that the revenge victory by Malkia Strikers emphasized ‘typical resilience and the fighting spirit of the Kenyan people’.
‘We all saw how our volleyball queens put up a spirited fight to win gold last (Friday) night. They fought hard against a tough Cameroonian team to retain their title as African champions,’ he said.
This was the fifth time Kenya had won gold at the African Games in the past nine editions of the tournament.
Cameroon claimed silver, while hosts Morocco settled for bronze after beating Nigeria 3-2 (23-25,25-14,25-21,22-25,15-13).
