Kenyan team shines at continental motocross tournament

Ross Mackenzie and Brody Bircher, both from South Africa and Kigen Mutuma Murithi from Kenya celebrate with their medals. [Courtesy, Standard]

Kenya displayed a stellar performance at the 2026 FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations (MXoAN) championship held at Gallina Motocross Park in Windhoek, Namibia, over the weekend.

The 24-member delegation clinched a top podium finish and secured fifth place overall in the continental standings in the three-day continental championship. Kenya accumulated 275 points to solidify its standing as a regional powerhouse.

South Africa took the team title with 814 points, followed by Namibia (431 points), Uganda (379 points), and Zimbabwe (327 points).

In the MX65 Division, Armani Amani Gioko, aged 10 years, put on a masterclass performance to claim the gold medal in the category.

Gioko dominated the first and third heats (20 points each) and finished fourth in the second heat (13 points) to emerge victorious with 53 overall points, beating South Africa’s Brayden Gareth Tucker (48 points) and Namibia's Mason Meyer (40 points).

Kigen Mutuma, 14, demonstrated immense grit to claim silver in the MX Lites category with 47 overall points.

After taking 13 points in the opening heat, Mutuma stormed back to secure a second-place finish in both consecutive rounds (17 points each), behind South Africa's Brody Bircher (60 pts).

“My expectation was a top five position and I was happy to clinch the second as all riders were on a new track without any home advantage,” said Mutuma.

Mutuma’s trainer Shannon Terblanche was equally pleased with his performance.

“This is unbelievable. From the results in the South African Nationals on August 15, Mutuma has been able to cut down 13 seconds from the fastest rider in South Africa and that is the reason why he is second today,” said Terblanche.

In the MX50 Ladies, Mozelle Momilani Momanyi, 10, spearheaded Kenya's female entries with a fourth-place finish in the overall standings.

Momanyi finished third in heat one (15 points) and fourth place in heats two and three (13 points each) for a total score of 41 points.

In the MX50 Ladies, Ugandan Ariella Nakitende Katende won with 60 points, followed by Zimbabwe’s Esminé Labuschagne with 51 points and Ronnieta Muganzi Sebuguzi of Uganda again with 43 points.

The FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations is the premier annual continental motocross championship bringing together elite riders from across Africa to compete for individual glory and national team honours.