A South Africa Wheelchair Basketball Federation women’s lead coach has praised Kenya’s efforts at the ongoing Africa Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Angola, but warned that without investment in early athlete development and coaching, the country risks remaining participants rather than serious competitors.
Speaking exclusively to Radio Generation from the Pavilhão Multiuso do Kilamba in Luanda, the experienced basketball and rugby development coach said she was impressed by Kenya’s performance at the continental event, but was concerned about their failure to progress further.
“Kenya is a top team, definitely, but we should be asking ourselves the hard questions as to why the East Africans have not been able to push beyond Africa,” Panyana said.
“We have seen top-ranked countries on the continent like Morocco, Senegal, Algeria and Angola looking sharp, with clear ambitions to reach the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games or even the Paralympic Games. Remember, they started this sport around the same time as Kenya—so why are they ahead?” she posed.
The South African coach, who is currently working at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF)-sanctioned African championships as a commentator and content creator, in addition to coaching the AmaWheela boys’ and girls’ teams (South Africa’s national wheelchair basketball teams), also pointed out weaknesses in Kenya’s style of play. She emphasised the need for a more collective team approach rather than reliance on individual brilliance.
She further criticised development structures across Africa, noting that even her home country has dropped in global rankings and is now mainly competitive within the continent—adding that Kenya faces similar challenges.
“We cannot wait for a person with a disability to reach 18 or 20 years, after high school, to start training. Why not begin when they are four or five years old? Let them develop the basics early,” she said.
Kenya missed out on the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games after the 3x3 teams were eliminated in the semi-finals. However, in the Ottawa World Championships qualifiers, the women’s 5x5 team started strongly with a win over Liberia and are set to face hosts Angola on Sunday evening