Why Alexandra Ndolo is warning athletes with Kenyan roots against representing the country
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 20.05.25. | 08:12
She described a three-year quest for answers regarding the management of the sport and facilitation nothing but a source of frustration
Kenya’s pioneering Olympic fencer Alexandra Ndolo has made a devastating public statement expressing her frustrations with Kenya’s sports governance structures, citing lack of accountability, transparency, and institutional support.
In a heartfelt Facebook post, Ndolo, who made history as the first épée fencer to represent Kenya at the 2024 Paris Olympics, lamented the absence of a regulatory framework to keep sports federations in check.
She described a three-year quest for answers nothing but frustration.
“It seems that no institution in Kenya is or feels responsible for keeping sports federations in check, because in my three-year quest for answers and a checks and balances structure, I could find none,” Ndolo wrote.
Her comments offer a rare and brutally honest view into the challenges faced by elite athletes trying to represent Kenya on the global stage, especially in less-known disciplines like fencing.
Ndolo warned aspiring athletes in the diaspora to reconsider joining Team Kenya:
“Diasporans, do not come back home."
Despite her accomplishments and global recognition, Ndolo’s post reveals a stark contrast between her ambitions and the reality of institutional inertia within Kenyan sports.
“At this moment I could not in good conscience recommend to any athlete of Kenyan descent to join the team, " she added.
But still, Ndolo remains committed to her Olympic journey and developing fencing in Kenya.
She reaffirmed her intention to train and compete for Team Kenya and attempt qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
However, she emphasized that she cannot achieve her vision alone.
“The first step is done. Kenyans know fencing. The second step will be possible once people with the power to do so take an invested look and take action, because I cannot accomplish this by myself. No more empty phrases, action. Now,” she opened up.
Born in 1986 in Bayreuth, Germany, Ndolo is the daughter of a Polish mother and a Kenyan father.
She began her fencing career in Germany, where she initially competed for the national team, including at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia.
Her international résumé is impressive: she has won silver and bronze medals at the European Fencing Championships (2017 and 2019 respectively), and a silver medal at the 2022 World Fencing Championships in Cairo while still representing Germany.
In 2019, even before officially switching allegiances, she co-founded the Kenya Fencing Association.
However, her transition to representing Kenya officially began in 2022, after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ndolo realized that for the sport to grow and inspire future champions in Kenya, she would need to become its face.
Ndolo now trains in Cologne, Germany, but travels to represent Kenya in international competitions.
She has since won two African Fencing Championship titles and secured qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she became Kenya’s first-ever Olympic fencer.
Ndolo’s frustrations echo a wider sentiment among athletes and stakeholders in Kenyan sports, where issues of mismanagement, lack of accountability, and poor governance have hindered the development of multiple disciplines.
Her call for action places pressure not only on the national sports regulators but also the Ministry of Sports to create effective oversight mechanisms.
For fencing and other emerging sports to thrive, Ndolo believes change must begin at the top with concrete policies, athlete-centered governance, and transparent leadership.
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