Boxers Fatuma Nabikolo and Angel Katushabe have been excluded from the ongoing Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for lack of mandatory genetic sex test certificates. That means only the two men will fight in Uganda’s name.
According to a Ugandan journalist covering the Games in Riyadh, 25 female boxers from different African countries were affected by this strict requirement.
Egypt, for instance, had fielded only female boxers. And all the eight were barred from competition.
But who is to blame? Was it negligence or malice on the part of the affected federations?
The journalist told Daily Monitor that Sudan, for instance, claims that the communication demanding the mandatory sex tests reached them on October 31. But the organisers say that was just a reminder.
The genesis
World Boxing (WB), the new international governing body that replaced the International Boxing Association (IBA) announced in May that it would introduce mandatory sex testing to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes due to take part in all its competitions. The new policy on ‘Sex, Age and Weight’ aims to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women.
On the same occasion, WB announced that Imane Khelif would not be allowed to participate in the female category at the Eindhoven
Box Cup or any WB event until she undergoes sex testing.
The Algerian made more news at the Paris 2024 Olympics for controversy surrounding her gender than her welterweight gold.
The IBA had banned her and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting from the World Championship in 2023 because she was deemed ‘not female.’ But the International Olympics Committee (IOC) admitted them into the Olympics, which raised a huge cloud of dust especially when Khelif’s first opponent surrendered within just seconds and cried like a baby.
The IOC despises everything IBA, and in March 2025 announced WB as the new recognised body governing Olympic boxing. Two months later, WB introduced the mandatory sex test, as if to conform to US President Donald Trump’s ‘No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order,’ which was targeting transgender people. (Trump will still be president during the next Olympics).
August 20, 2025, WB announced on website the ‘Sex Eligibility Policy’ which requires every female boxer to present a legit genetic sex test before entering any competition organised or sanctioned by WB.
This communication was sent to all stakeholders: member federations, continental and national Olympic committees and media. Uganda joined WB in May.
In September, twelve female boxers from the Dominican Republic, Nigeria, Fiji, the Philippines and the entire five-member French women’s squad were excluded from the World Boxing Championship in Liverpool for failing to present the sex certificates.
FFBoxe-the French Boxing Federation-said the French law prohibits them from conducting the tests domestically or abroad without a medical prescription. Upon WB’s recommendation, they did the tests in a laboratory in Leeds. Despite assurances that results would be delivered within 24 hours, they were delayed. And the boxers missed.
So, what did other WB member countries learn from that ordeal? Perhaps nothing.
Fact vs fiction
‘The issue is all African countries that are participating in the World Boxing competition for the first time have been affected. World Boxing says they first implemented this policy in Liverpool but they have never officially communicated to federations as regards this new development,’ Sula Kamoga, the Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) vice president, who is in Riyadh, said on a WhatsApp group which includes journalists.
‘We suggested two options for them: having a female doctor physically testing the boxers or to take the girls’ samples to labs [but let them fight]. Since tests take two to three weeks, in case one gets a medal and the test turns out against them then the medal can be retrieved.’
Kamoga said both suggestions were trashed. Absurd. But shouldn’t UBF have avoided this drama?
UBF had applied to WB to compete in the World Championship in Liverpool in September. Their squad included female boxers. So, how had can UBF feign ignorance about the sex test requirement?
And weren’t the French and Nigerian stories enough reminders of WB’s seriousness about the test?
Moses Muhangi, the UBF president gave a slightly different excuse from his deputy’s.
On the same WhatsApp group, Muhangi admitted knowledge of WB’s August 20 communication on the mandatory sex test requirement on women. But he said that was for ‘the inaugural World Boxing Championship, not necessarily for all other competitions as each competition can have different competition rules.’
Despite claiming that boxing at the Islamic Games is neither owned nor sanctioned by WB, Muhangi said the UBF never received any competition manual from WB.
But all that is false. The technical handbook published in July 2024, states explicitly that boxing at the 2025 Islamic Games ‘shall be conducted in accordance with the latest World Boxing Competition Rules and Regulations.’
Muhangi further claimed that all communications regarding the Games were channeled through the National Olympic Committees (NOCs).
‘Everything our NOC asked of us we submitted,’ he said.
‘The NOC was also in charge of registering the participating teams and there’s no single information in regards to eligibility they asked from UBF and was not submitted.’
One journalist also wondered whether Uganda’s chief de mission met the different federations during the preps to brief them on the requirements.
‘We met [with the national federations]. They are looking for excuses,’ Sadik Nasiwu, Uganda’s chief de mission, briefly told Daily Monitor via a WhatsApp text. ‘I’m busy with the team and planning for next events.’ So, who is lying and who is not?
Time factor
Could it have been a time issue? Maybe not. When the French federation was caught offside in early September, it admitted that WB had informed it about the ‘femininity test’ on July 21, almost two months to the competition in Liverpool.
Section 5.1 of the Sex Eligibility Policy, requires all (female) boxers to undergo a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test ‘or a functional medical equivalent genetic test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility to compete.’
The PCR test is used to detect specific genetic material-the SRY gene-which reveals the presence or absence of the Y chromosome. If the Y chromosome is detected, then the birth sex is declared male.
The test can be conducted by nasal or mouth swab, saliva or blood.
For standard service, labs generally report results in one to two weeks from the time the sample is received, to allow for processing, quality control, and potential re-testing if the initial sample is not viable.
But there is also the expedited or “rush” option, which can deliver results in as little as the same day or within 24-72 hours, but for an additional fee.
COUNTRY AND EXCLUDED BOXERS
Egypt (8)
Palestine (5)
Chad (4)
Sudan (3)
Uganda (2)
Morocco (2)
Algeria (1)