Green Commandos rise from the ashes to rule again as teams now shift focus to East Africa battle

As the dust settles on the grounds of the Mpesa Foundation Academy in Thika, the echoes of a totally altered schools’ sports ecosystem are still reverberating.

As champions celebrate their conquests and losers leak their wounds, 2026 will go down in history as the year dynasties crumbled, long-suffering giants clawed their way back to immortality and the entire hierarchy of Kenyan schools’ sports was brutally rewritten.

From the dethronement of Vihiga Boys (rugby 15s), St Luke’s Kimilili (handball boys), Musingu and Tigoi Girls (hockey) and 2025 boys’ basketball champions Laiser Hill and during the Term One games, their collapse had set a terrifying trend for defending champions. Across almost every discipline, the 2026 landscape underwent a significant shift.

In volleyball, rugby 7s, football and netball, teams that had lifted the 2025 national trophies found themselves on the sidelines having failed to survive their fiercely competitive county and regional battles. During the Term Two championships, 2025 national and East Africa champions St Peter’s Mumias (rugby 7s) and Cheptil (volleyball boys), national football champions St Joseph’s Boys Senior School Kitale and Butere Girls Senior School as well of 2025 netball holders Oyugi Ogango were not spared.

Amidst the ruthless Term Two games purge, only Kinale Girls stood firm against the tide of change. They were the only champions standing from last year’s national games as they successfully defended their rugby 7s gong. They fought gallantly showing immense grit, tactical discipline and nerves of steel to outmuscle their opponents and firm grip on their trophy. Kinale’s Margret Gathoni took home the most valuable player (MVP) for her outstanding performance.

The highlight of this year’s Term Two games was the redemption of Kakamega School’s iconic Green Commandos. For years, the mention of Green Commandos had only evoked memories of past glory rather than present-day dominance.

They reverberated a cry of a fallen empire yearning to rise again and regain control. Plagued by heartbreak, administrative transitions and an agonising five-year national title drought, Kenya’s most successful schools football powerhouse was slowly fading into oblivion.

However, after years of staying in the shadows of their Kakamega County and Western Region rivals, the Green Commandos had enough of the taunts from their critics and embarked on a redemption mission. Their hunger for the trophy was made clear with every tackle, every goal and conquest at each level of competition.

And in a pulsating heart-stopping national boys football final, that lived up to its ‘Mashemeji Derby’ billing, they edged out Nyanza’s St Mary’s Yala popularly known as Black Saints 3-2 to recapture the title they had last won in 2018. As the final whistle blew, signaling the end of their long wait, it was song and dance for Kakamega and their thousands of fans who had thronged Mpesa Academy.

Despite not lifting the trophy, St Mary’s star Javan Omondi bagged the MVP award for his brilliant display throughout the championship.

While Kakamega’s rebirth provided the fairy tale, the championship played out as a ruthless and inescapable fate for some powerhouses. The most shocking twist of the 2026 games unfolded on the volleyball courts where the undisputed queens of East Africa schools’ volleyball Kwanthanze suffered a disastrous fall from grace.

Kwanthanze did not just relinquish their national gong, but also failed to make the podium hence losing the East Africa trophy too after failing to book a ticket to Morogoro.  While history has proved that even the most successful empires fall after the exit of the architects of their success, the decline of Kwanthanze was so sudden for it’s not even a year after the departure of their winning coach Justine Kigwari.

They finished fourth behind perennial rivals Kesogon who assumed the reins, silver medalists Soweto Academy and St Martha’s Mwitoti who snatched the last East Africa slot.

Kwanthanze suffered at the hands of Mwitoti who beat them twice first in the preliminaries and then in the third-place play-offs hence stripping all their crowns off.

Kesogon bagged their second trophy following their 2023 successful outing. Kesogon’s Christine Gati won the MVP award for guiding her side to victory.

Chesamisi Boys Senior School from Western were crowned volleyball champions after beating AIC Chepsaita from Rift Valley 3-1 (25-23, 14-25, 25-23, 25-18) in the final. It was a happy ending for the Chesamisi Buffaloes who made the best out of the second chance they got to make their national debut.

Having secured a national spot following the disqualification of former national and East Africa holders Malava Boys, the Buffaloes made every second of their time on the courts count to win their maiden national gong on an unbeaten record. Victor Bera took home the MVP award thanks to his impressive show that delivered the trophy to the Bungoma-based school.

St Joseph’s Girls Senior School Kitale won their maiden girls football title after edging out 2019 national winners Nyakach Girls 7-6 in post-match penalties. The two sides had played to a 1-1 draw in regulation time.

The two sides boasting current and former Junior Starlets players will represent Kenya in Morogoro. Nyakach captain Peninah Okoth who bagged the MVP award will be out to guide her side to victory.

Former national rugby 15s champions Butula Boys final cracked the short code to lift the sevens trophy. Butula who had lost to national bronze medalists Friends School Bokoli in the Western Region final avenged their defeat at the national semi-final by securing a narrow 14-12 victory. They would then thrash Nyanza champions Cardinal Otunga Mosocho 26-0 in the final to lift the gong. Butula’s Timonah Elia bagged the MVP award.

Rift Valley’s Andersen shattered St Monica Bukokholo’s hopes of breaking the ceiling to win the netball title. Andersen proved their might against Bukokholo by beating them 49-37 in the final. This is after they had chalked a slim 44-43 win at the group stage. Agoro Sare and Ikutha Girls were crowned basketball 3X3 champions following their successful campaigns.

Kenya also selected formidable composite tennis, table tennis, badminton, scrabble and chess teams to represent the country in Tanzania. Compounding the dramatic shift in power was the addition of strategic expansion of the sporting disciplines.

The integration of new sports into the Term Two games curriculum such as cricket, baseball, lacrosse and beach volleyball injected fresh energy and widened the talent pipeline offering non-traditional powerhouses an alternate route to national immortality.

Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) chairman Kipchumba Maiyo said that they expect the standards of the games to improve due to emerging forces.

"The current shift of new schools emerging and challenging for trophies on the big stage of schools is good because it has increased the level of competition hence improving standards at every level of competition,” Maiyo said.

He added that the games are going to get better because of the expansion of the disciplines and also a possible increase of participating teams.

"Plans are underway to expand the games so that talented learners get an opportunity to showcase talent in their respective sports as they look to build careers in line with the Competency Based Education (CBE) Arts and Sports pathway.”