NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 28 – National Under-20 volleyball player Esther Mutinda and tennis protege Roselinda Asumwa headline the list for the 2018 Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA) most outstanding girl accolade in the schools category ahead of the ceremony slated for next month in Mombasa.
The list of five, whose winner will be crowned on January 11 at the iconic Fort Jesus, also has Kwale Girls’ striker Elizabeth Katungwa, Faith Wanyonyi of Moi Girls Kamusinga and hockey star Joan Anjao of Tigoi Girls.
The awards are co-sponsored by Mombasa County, National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Communication Authority (CA), Kenya Pipeline, GOtv, LapFund, New KCC, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Kenya Power, Sports Station and Protel Studios.
Mutinda helped Kwathanze retain their national and East Africa volleyball title in another successful year and her exploits also saw her voted the most valuable player at the Regional Games in Musanze, Rwanda.
-Junior Malkia Strikers
This saw her called up to the national under 20 team where she played for the junior Malkia Strikers at the continental event in August.
Asumwa, who is a student at Ngomeni Secondary School, won both the lawn tennis national and East Africa girls’ singles titles this year.
She also teamed up with Faith Nyabera to win the doubles gold at the regional games and help Kenya retain their title.
Asumwa has also played in a number of ITF competitions this year with the highlight been the final of the ITF East Africa junior circuit, where she lost to twin sister Angela Okutoyi.
Katungwa on the other hand was instrumental as her side claimed a historic double, winning both their first national and East Africa football titles.
Katungwa was voted the MVP at the nationals after emerging top scorer with seven goals. She also scored the winning goal during the regional final against Kawempe Muslim of Uganda.
-Fifth national title
Moi Girls Kamusinga handball team goalkeeper, Wanyonyi helped her side to claim their fifth national handball title.
She was also instrumental in them reaching the final at the regional games where they lost to Uganda’s Kibuli. Her exploits saw her voted MVP.
Tigoi Girls forward Anjao was the force behind her team’s silver medals at both the National and East Africa Games. She was the top scorer at the nationals with eight goals. In the EA games, she walked away with the MVP accolade.