Defending champions South Africa maintained their unbeaten start to the Africa Netball Cup after defeating hosts Kenya 49-43 on Monday at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

The Protea Warriors controlled the decisive stages of the match to register their third consecutive victory and move top of the men’s round-robin standings with six points.

Kenya Net Kings remained competitive throughout the encounter but were unable to contain the defending champions in the closing stages as South Africa maintained their perfect record.

Kenya Head Coach Peter Oloo said the team would review its performance before turning its attention to Eswatini in its next match.

“We still have a match at hand, so we are not under any pressure. We will review the video, tighten the areas where we did not do well and turn our focus to Eswatini,” Oloo said.

South Africa lead the standings with six points from three matches, while Uganda, Eswatini and Kenya have two points each, separated by goal difference.

Earlier, Eswatini recorded their first victory of the tournament after overcoming Malawi 42-37.

Malawi started strongly and led 12-10 after the opening quarter before Eswatini responded to take a 22-20 advantage at half-time. Eswatini maintained their momentum in the second half to secure the win.

In the women’s encounter, Malawi strengthened their position at the top of Pool Two after registering their third consecutive victory with an emphatic 82-22 win over Nigeria.

The Malawi Queens dominated from the opening quarter to move to six points, four points ahead of Uganda, who have played two matches.

Uganda also maintained a perfect start after defeating Zambia 59-40 in Pool Two.

The She Cranes used their speed through court and defensive pressure to establish a comfortable advantage, while Zambia improved after their opening defeat to Malawi.

Zambia head coach Lazarus Tembo praised his players for their response against the East Africans.

“We came in to counter some of the things we had studied about Uganda. I’m proud of the girls because they put in a lot of work and did more than we expected from them,” Tembo said.

Namibia continued their strong campaign in Pool One with a 47-31 victory over Zimbabwe.

The Desert Jewels have now won both their matches and are level on four points with South Africa at the top of the pool.

Namibia head coach Julene Meyer attributed the result to the team’s execution of its game plan, particularly during centre-pass and turnover situations.

“We wanted to start strong and we expected a very physical game. Our focus was on centre-pass conversion and turnover conversion, and today we managed to execute those areas really well,” Meyer said.

Botswana also registered their first win of the tournament after beating Tanzania 59-35 in the other Pool One encounter.

The victory lifted Dinaledi of Botswana to two points after earlier defeats to Zimbabwe and Namibia, while Tanzania remain without a win.

The Africa Netball Cup and Netball World Cup Sydney 2027 Qualifier Africa is being held in Nairobi from Sept. 19 to 26, with the men competing for the continental title and the women competing for both the Africa Netball Cup and qualification places for the 2027 World Cup.

South Africa and Uganda have already secured their places at the Sydney World Cup based on the World Netball Rankings of Dec. 1, 2025.

The Nairobi tournament will determine Africa’s next two eligible teams to be invited to the global competition.

After three days of competition, South Africa and Namibia remain unbeaten in Pool One, while Malawi lead Pool Two with three wins from three matches.

The Tournament resumes, Tuesday, with six matches at Kasarani.

In the men’s competition, South Africa face Malawi at 8 a.m., followed by Uganda against Eswatini at 10 a.m.

The women’s programme will see Namibia take on Tanzania at noon, Nigeria face Zambia at 2 pm., South Africa meet Botswana at 4 pm., while Kenya play Uganda at 6 pm.

All matches are being played at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, with entry free to spectators.

By Nancy Omondi