Waweru among three Kenyan referees selected for AFCON preparatory course

Three Kenyan referees are among the 67 match officials set to start a preparatory course ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast scheduled for January 2024.

In a list published by the Confederation of African Football on 12 September, experienced referee Peter Waweru Kamaku will join two Kenyan assistant referees; Gilbert Cheruiyot and Stephen Yiembe in a group of 32 center referees, 33 assistant referees, and 2 VAR officials drawn from more than 26 different countries penciled for the refresher course ahead of the bi-annual tournament.

With the three above, Kenya has the most representatives from the CECAFA region with all of Burundi, Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, and Djibouti having one each.

Surprisingly, neither Uganda nor Tanzania has a selected referee, as does Nigeria.

Kamaku and Cheruiyot are not alien to this tournament, as they were among the two Kenyan officials involved in the 2021 AFCON tournament in Cameroon last year.

In an interesting twist, the three officials were all in action recently, as they all partnered together in Ghana's final game in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifications against Central African Republic on 7 September at the Baba Yara Stadium in Ghana.

Whilst Kamaru acted as the game’s center referee, Cheruiyot and Yiembe served as his assistants.

The fourth official from that match, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, is also the sole Somalian in the CAF list.

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Kamaku, a FIFA listed referee since 2017, also partnered up with Cheruiyot at the end of June this year, as they officiated the second leg of the CAF Champions League final between Egypt’s Al Ahly and Moroccan club Wydad at a fully packed Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca.

While having officiated the CAF U20 final in Zambia, Cheruiyot was also part of the officials who oversaw the CHAN 2021 final in Cameroon.

Yiembe on the other hand, alongside Kamaku, was privileged to officiate this year’s CAF U23 AFCON final between Morocco and defending champions Egypt.

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Waweru’s documented record has seen him referee the AFCON U20 in 2019, AFCON 2019 in Egypt, 2019 U17 World Cup in Brazil, and the 2021 CHAN, including its final.

Next year's AFCON tournament kick off in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on 13 January 2023.

Leading to the Final tournament will be the Official Final Draw that will be held in Abidjan on 12 October 2023.