Harambee Stars striker, Olympic champion and top pro golfer to battle for top sports award

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 8, 2026 – Harambee Stars striker Ryan Ogam, top pro golfer Njoroge Kibugu and world 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi are among nominees for the 2025 Sports Personality of the Year (SOYA) award.

The nomination is a just reward for the ex-Tusker marksman who starred for Harambee Stars at last year’s African Nations Championships (CHAN) during which he scored three goals as the national football side reached the quarters of the continental competition.

Originally a defensive midfielder, the 20-year-old broke into national limelight with a season-high 15 goals for Tusker before suffering an injury midway through the 2024/25 season.

His star performance at CHAN earned him a big move to Austrian side AC Wolfsberger where he continues to stomp on the door of the starting XI.

While Ogam was grabbing the headlines in Kenyan football, Kibugu was outshining his peers on the golf scene.

He made history as the first Kenyan — and East African — to qualify for the prestigious Sunshine Development Tour in South Africa after a dominant showing at the East Africa Swing.

He claimed three titles in the inaugural Sunshine Development Tour-East Africa Swing.

The 22-year-old’s first win was in June at the Thika Greens Resort where he managed a three-day total of 15-under-par 201.

He won in Nyali, the third leg of the Tour with a total score of 2-over-par 215 then sealed a hat-trick at the Betika Masters, which was the seventh leg, at VetLab Sports Club on 10-under-par 206.

Kibugu ended the season as Kenya’s top golfer, ranked 1608th in the world rankings.

His excellent performances translated to the 2026 Magical Kenya Open where he was the only Kenyan to make the cut for round three of the competition.

Rebirth of Rudisha

Elsewhere, Wanyonyi continues to show that he is an able replacement for ‘King’ David Rudisha as the phenomenon of the men’s 800m.

Having won the Olympic title a year before in Paris, the youngster added the world crown to his medal collection, clocking 1:41.86 to triumph in Tokyo.

That victory in Japan was the culmination of a dominant run in the Diamond League Series, having won in Oslo, Stockholm, Monaco, Zurich and London.

Wanyonyi also clocked a national record of 3:52.45 to win the men’s mile at the Adizero Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Also in contention for the SOYA top gong is Nairobi City Thunder’s Albert Odero who was central to the team’s progression to a first-ever Basketball Africa League (BAL) in Kigali, Rwanda.

The American-based ‘baller’ scored crucial 16 points to assist Thunder beat Uganda’s Nam Blazers in the BAL Elite 16 opening game to qualify for semis.

Odero was the hero for Thunder in the semifinal against South Africa’s Johannesburg Giants where he scored a powerful dunk at the buzzer to seal the 86-83 win.

He was the game’s highest points scorer on 32.

The awards gala are set for Friday evening at the Uhuru Gardens.

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