London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

Kenyan Man Wearing Niqab Unmasked In Women's Chess Tournament

Kenyan Man Wearing Niqab Unmasked In Women's Chess Tournament

"I don't think anything like it has ever happened anywhere in the world," said John Mukabi, secretary general of the Kenyan Chess Federation.
A young man wearing a niqab and glasses played four rounds of the Nairobi Women's Chess Open before being exposed.

"I don't think anything like it has ever happened anywhere in the world," said John Mukabi, secretary general of the Kenyan Chess Federation.

Mukabi said that after the imposter was unmasked he explained that he had done it because he had a better chance of winning the women's competition prizemoney.

The 31st Kenya Open, an international chess competition in Nairobi from April 6-10, attracted 445 participants, with 84 entries in the women's tournament.

One veiled player, silent and elusive, attracted increasing suspicion as the rounds progressed.

"The first hint that there was something wrong was when I went around with a photographer to take pictures of the competition," Mukabi told AFP on Sunday.

"When we went back to the computer to put in the names, the name was Milicent Awour. We were expecting a Muslim name. It was a bit odd but it is possible that there are people with Christian names who are Muslims."

He said match officials were also developing doubts.

"The arbiters also noticed something: after games, this person disappears and only comes back with a few minutes to the start of the next round," said Mukabi.

"Somebody also noticed that the shoulders looked more male than female... Even the rubber shoes he was wearing, they were mostly associated with men."

The mystery competitor was also scoring good results.

"The other thing is he had defeated a very experienced lady, who participated six times in the World Chess Olympiad for Kenya," said Mukabi.

After round four, the officials made their move. It was checkmate in one.

"After that game, the arbiters took him aside and one female arbiter went with him to the washrooms where he was asked to remove the hijab. On reaching there, he immediately just admitted that he was a male. He was withdrawn and the scores reversed."

"He said financial problems led him to do that," said Mukabi. "In the men's section, he had no chance at all, we had Grand Masters, International Masters..."

The young man, who is a student at the University of Nairobi, is due to appear before the Kenyan chess federation's disciplinary committee next week. He faces a suspension of several years.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
×