Uganda’s dominance at the 2026 Federation of East Africa Schools Sports Association (FEASSA) swimming championships in Morogoro, Tanzania, was a collective display of depth, consistency and versatility that saw the Uganda Swim Team finish comfortably at the top of the standings after two days of competition.
Uganda collected 51 medals, 28 gold, 16 silver and 7 bronze to finish well ahead of Kenya’s 37 medals and Tanzania’s eight. The dominance was almost perfectly balanced across the two categories, with the Ugandan men winning 22 medals and the women 27.
More significantly, Uganda accumulated 1169 team points, beating Kenya’s 1007 and Tanzania’s 550. The Ugandan women led their category with 589 points, while the men also topped the standings with 580 points.
The strongest feature of Uganda’s campaign was the number of swimmers capable of producing podium finishes. In the women’s individual rankings, Zara Marie Mbanga and Kenya’s Vekheina Leboy shared top billing on 60 points, while Uganda’s Gabriella Opolot finished third on 57 and Rahmah Nakasule Kalungi fourth on 54. Jinan Nabuyungo Nakato and Tyrah Muganzi Dorothy also featured inside the top ten with 40 points each, while Paloma Kirabo, Keyshia Karen Mwangi, Nisha Pearl Najjuma and Crystal Katelyn Tendo Ssemanda all contributed significant points.
The men’s competition was similarly strong. Ethani Ssengooba topped the individual standings with 60 points, followed by teammate Peterson Inhensiko on 57. Jonathan Kaweesa, Alex Mwine Rumanyika and Kyle Christian Kimuli Kaweesa each collected 40 points, while Shaun Murungi Kairumba and Swarkorpf Thembo Katende Kyeyune also finished among the leading Ugandan scorers.
Mbanga was one of the clearest individual standouts for Uganda. The 14-year-old opened strongly in the 200m individual medley, qualifying first in 2:33.12, which was listed as a FEASSA record, before winning the final in 2:33.64. She followed that with victory in the 100m breaststroke, winning in 1:21.04 after setting another FEASSA record of 1:19.07 in the preliminaries. Her versatility was further demonstrated in the 50m breaststroke, where she won in 36.83 after qualifying in a record 36.54.
In the 50m butterfly for swimmers aged 15 and under, Tyrah Muganzi Dorothy won gold in 29.73, with teammate Gabriella Opolot taking silver in 31.22. Muganzi later completed another victory in the 100m butterfly, winning in 1:10.37, ahead of fellow Ugandan Nakasule Kalungi. Opolot was equally influential, winning the 50m backstroke in 33.25 and the 100m backstroke in 1:13.20. Nakasule added gold in the 50m backstroke for the 16-and-over category, while Kirabo Paloma and Keyshia Karen Mwangi also secured strong finishes in the butterfly and freestyle events.
The freestyle events provided further evidence of Uganda’s depth. Jinan Nakato won the 50m freestyle in 28.83, while Ssemanda finished third. Nakato and Ssemanda then went one-two in the 100m freestyle, clocking 1:04.56 and 1:05.00 respectively.
On the men’s side, Ssengooba was the standout performer. He won the 200m individual medley in 2:20.68, matching the listed FEASSA record, before taking gold in the 100m freestyle in a record 53.83. He also won the 50m freestyle in 24.44. His performances gave Uganda a dependable source of points in the sprint and medley events, while teammates ensured the team never became overly reliant on him.
Peterson Inhensiko was another key contributor, winning the 50m backstroke in a FEASSA-record 28.32 and the 100m backstroke in 1:04.00. He also finished second behind Ssengooba in the 50m freestyle. Meanwhile, Alex Mwine Rumanyika was outstanding in butterfly. He won the 50m butterfly in a record 26.71 and followed it with victory in the 100m butterfly in 1:00.34, also a FEASSA record. Jonathan Kaweesa added another sprint title, winning the boys’ 15-and-under 50m freestyle in a record 24.96.
Uganda also won all six relay events on the programme. The girls won both the 200m medley and 200m freestyle relays, while the boys also swept their two relay events. Uganda then completed the clean sweep by winning both mixed relays.
The margins were particularly telling. Uganda’s boys’ 200m medley relay finished in 1:51.32, ahead of Kenya’s 1:53.88, while the girls’ medley team clocked 2:09.81 compared with Kenya’s 2:15.53.
The mixed 200m medley relay was even more emphatic, with Uganda finishing in 2:00.39, more than ten seconds ahead of Kenya.
The relay results underline one of the defining features of Uganda’s campaign: the swimmers were not only capable of winning individually but could combine effectively as a team.
With Uganda winning every relay, topping both the men’s and women’s team standings, producing the leading individual scorer in the men’s competition and placing several swimmers near the top of the women’s rankings, the FEASSA 2026 championship became a clear statement of regional strength.
Uganda did not merely win the championship; it controlled it across the individual races, relays, medal table and team points, a performance that reflected depth as much as star quality.