AFCON 2025: Four Kenyan Referees Picked for Continental Duty in Morocco

Four Kenyan referees have earned the honor of being included among the 101 match officials appointed to handle games at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

The prestigious tournament will run from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, and the Kenyan quartet will take up different officiating roles. Peter Waweru Kamaku has been named among the center referees, while Dickens Mimisa will operate as one of the Video Assistant Referees (VAR). Seasoned officials Gilbert Cheruiyot and Stephen Yiembe have been selected as assistant referees for the competition.

These referees are no strangers to top-tier football. Kamaku, Yiembe, and Cheruiyot have frequently officiated in the CAF Champions League, Africa Cup of Nations, and even the Olympic Games. Notably, Yiembe represented East Africa at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in June 2025, becoming the only referee from the region.

Kamaku’s Journey of Excellence

Kamaku’s rise in officiating has been impressive, both on and off the field. Earlier this year, he was involved in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, including the Egypt versus Burkina Faso clash in June. Since earning his FIFA badge in 2017, he has officiated in major tournaments such as the 2019 AFCON U-20, the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, the Under-17 World Cup in Brazil, and the 2021 CHAN final between Morocco and Mali.

Beyond refereeing, Kamaku is also a distinguished scholar, holding a PhD in Pure Mathematics and serving as a senior lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

As AFCON 2025 draws closer, all eyes will be on the match officials to deliver consistent, fair, and controversy-free performances. After the success of the 2023 edition, expectations are high for the upcoming tournament to maintain and even surpass that standard of professionalism and integrity.