Judul : Why Boxers' Sex Test Scandal Could Have Been Prevented
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Why Boxers' Sex Test Scandal Could Have Been Prevented
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Rukare, who also serves as the acting president of the Commonwealth Games Sports Federation, mentioned that weightlifters were required to pay licensing fees for the Riyadh event. "If we hadn't found out about this in time, they would have missed the competitions."
When the two Ugandan female boxers, Fatuma Nabikolo and Angel Katushabe, were left out of the 6thThe Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were affected by the absence of required genetic sex test certificates, leading the Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) to quickly blame the Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC), the Islamic Solidarity Sports Association (ISSA), and World Boxing (WB) for failing to inform them about this critical issue.
But following a re-examination of the issue that left two medal contenders disappointed and puzzled,Daily Monitorrealizes that every party, aside from the victims—the boxers—holds responsibility.
Women boxers from Uganda, Egypt, Sudan, and other nations were excluded as they did not have the genetic sex test certificates, a newly imposed condition for participation in any event organized or recognized by the WB.
This regulation, implemented on August 20, 2025, caused outrage when 12 female boxers from France, the Philippines, Fiji, the Dominican Republic, and Nigeria were excluded from the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool in September. They underwent SRY tests in Leeds, but the results arrived after the entry deadline.
Currently, the technical manual for the 2025 Riyadh Games clearly states that boxing events will be held following the most recent World Boxing Competition Rules and Regulations, which include, but are not limited to, the Wada Anti-Doping Rules and the World Boxing Anti-Doping Rules.
The International Boxing Association—IBA—has been replaced by WB, which is the new international boxing governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
The UBF pretends not to know these rules, blaming the UOC for withholding information about the required sexual tests for female boxers before the Riyadh Games.
The president of the UOC, Donald Rukare, denies the claims, stating that various sports have distinct rules and standards, meaning the relevant federations—rather than the UOC—have a better understanding of these regulations and should take appropriate action.
Rukare, who also serves as the acting president of the Commonwealth Games Sports Federation, mentioned that weightlifters were required to pay licensing fees for the Riyadh event. "If we hadn't found out about this in time, they would have missed the competitions."
However, UBF president Moses Muhangi denies any responsibility, stating that the UBF provided whatever the National Olympic Committee (NOC) "requested from us."
But how true?
Muhangi states that the Chef de Mission (CDM) did not provide the UBF with the boxing competition manual for the Riyadh Games. HoweverDaily Monitor Has observed proof of an email sent by UOC's Jonathan Wangolo to the UBF email address, Muhangi, and his assistant Sula Kamoga, along with others. Rukare and Sadik Nasiwu, the CDM, were also included in the copy.
The first message came from ISSA, clearly stating that boxing at the Islamic Games 2025 would adhere to WB regulations.
The UOC obtained it on October 21, 2025, and forwarded it to UBF, Muhangi, and others at 1:19pm on the same day.
The email also urged the parties to confirm full adherence and qualification to the regulations. However, UOC states that the UBF had no questions regarding it.
Nasiwu briefly told Daily Monitor That UBF were merely seeking justifications. Muhangi stated, "If Nasiwu is speaking the truth, let him present the screenshot of the sent email."
But when we informed Muhangi about our proof regarding UOC's email, he fell silent.
Muhangi also stated that the WB's gender verification policy was applicable only to the Liverpool World Championships. "It is not mentioned anywhere that it will also be applied to other WB-approved events such as these Riyadh Islamic Games. Therefore, it was crucial that the channel to the Games, which is the NOC, provide us with all the relevant information about the Games to help us prepare more effectively."
However, the NOC/UOC conveyed WB's stance on the Games rules on October 21, serving as a reminder after the August 20 announcement to all WB member federations that the gender eligibility policy would initially be implemented at the Liverpool event in September. Additionally, Section 4.1 indicates that the policy will apply to all "international-level competitions owned or recognized by WB."
However, Muhangi's initial reaction to the incident was informing the press, on aWhatsAppgroup, that: “The Islamic Games are not a competition owned by WB, and it is not recognized by WB.” He then questioned: “Why are men not being tested?” These contradictions portray Muhangi as either careless or attempting to mislead. Since he later acknowledged that WB approved the Riyadh Games. Additionally, Section 7 of the Sex Eligibility Policy explicitly requires male boxers to submit sex test results by January 1, 2026.
Muhangi stated, "We are not the ones who placed unqualified athletes on a flight to Riyadh. The National Olympic Committee, through the CDM, should have thoroughly verified the boxers' eligibility before they obtained travel documents, as the NOC had all the necessary information regarding the eligibility criteria."
That is slightly accurate. And Rukare acknowledges: "We placed too much faith in federations. We should have verified more thoroughly. Moving ahead, we will enforce stricter measures."
But this should have resolved one issue: transporting boxers who are not eligible to the Games. However, UBF would have failed in its duty to carry out the gender tests, which, as stated by WB, is a requirement of national federations, not National Olympic Committees.
It traces back to a single idea: "The main duty for athletes and the rules of their sport lies with the federations," Rukare emphasized.
UBF also tries to justify itself by pointing out that Uganda was not the only one impacted. "You mean all the other federations were careless?" a pro-Muhangi journalist questioned.
Straightforward: if every boxing federation wasn't careless, why would we assume all National Olympic Committees from the affected nations didn't fulfill their responsibilities?
This is not the first instance of boxers failing to participate in international competitions. In March 2024, Shafick Mawanda was absent from the World Boxing Olympic Qualifiers held in Busto Arsizio, Italy.
The UBF blamed the UOC for postponing the team's journey. However, it was later discovered that the boy and his two trainers had skipped the required weigh-in, even though they were already at the location.
Window for flexibility
Could WB or ISSA have performed better? Perhaps. Although the technical manual clearly stated that the Riyadh Games will be governed by WB rules, the most recent version of these rules (November 2024) failed to include the Sex Eligibility Policy that was approved on August 20, 2025.
Furthermore, the Riyadh Games handbook, consisting of 12 pages and 3748 words, does not address gender/sex testing. It states that boxers must meet "compliance with all WB regulations, including but not limited to, the World Boxing Anti-Doping Code," and also includes a link to the World Boxing Anti-Doping Rules.
Perhaps a link to the Sex Eligibility Policy could have ended the excuses of "we didn't know," "they didn't communicate formally."
Other eligibility criteria mentioned included accepting "elite boxers from recognized national federation members of World Boxing, who possess WB record books."
However, we recognize that the record books utilized in Riyadh were IBA record books, as WB—established in 2023—only began competitions in 2024, and several IBA members—including Uganda—were initially hesitant to participate.
Could the same adaptability regarding record books also be applied to sex tests, which are a completely new requirement in boxing?
And don't assume "maybe because it was mostly African countries impacted in Riyadh," keep in mind the same guidelines, barely two weeks old, affected all five French women in Liverpool.
The press also failed in its monitoring responsibility. If they had posed the correct questions sooner, maybe unqualified fighters would not have gone to Riyadh.
"We all failed. And unfortunately, it was the athletes who paid the price. However, let's learn from this and improve moving ahead," Rukare stated. However, Muhangi feels no remorse for anything.
SEX ELIGIBILITY POLICY
Announced: May 2025
Passed: August 2025
First Appearance: World Championship, September 2025
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