At 16, Laurence Numukiza, is daring to dream beyond the confines of Kakuma Refugee Camp in Turkana County which she has called home for the last 15 years.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), her parents relocated with her to Kakuma in 2011 when she was a year old to escape political strife back home.
Her father, Laurent Ndimuminwe, died in 2014, three years after arriving in Kakuma, leaving her mother, Deniza Manaliyo to raise her.
Laurence Numukiza, a member of the Refugee Junior Team that will compete at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
Now 16, the eighth born in a family of 10 children has risen to become one of the faces of the Refugee Junior Team that will compete at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal from October 31 to November 13.
The taekwondo athlete is part of a six-member Refugee Team that will compete under the Olympic flag. The other athletes are Rochene Rashid also from the DRC who will compete in men’s 200 metres, her compatriots Flourence Masumbi (women’s 200m), Arno Yafunga (men’s judo - 55kg), South Sudan’s Nyataba Kuek (800m), and Burundian Clement Niyomuooza (800m).
Numukiza’s journey in taekwondo began two years ago when coach Jack Otieno introduced the sport at her school, Angelina Jolly Primary School, in Kakuma in 2024. It wasn’t long before curiosity turned into passion and Numukiza began training seriously.
On February 11, 2025, she earned a place in Refugee Team after winning at the trials organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Olympic Refugee Foundation (ORF), World Athletics, National Olympics Committee of Kenya (Noc-K), Athletics Kenya, Taekwondo Federation of Kenya, and Kenya Judo Federation at Lornah Kiplagat Sports Academy Stadium in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County.
“I took up taekwondo in 2024 when the sport was introduced in our school out of curiosity, and so far I’m enjoying every session. I’m happy that the sport will offer me a chance to compete against the best in the world,” she said on Wednesday at the Complete Sports Training Centre in Kaptagat in Elgeyo Marakwet County where the team is training for the games.
After making the team, Numukiza returned to Kakuma to continue training, and the results are encouraging. She won a bronze medal in the Under-55kg Junior category at the Rwanda Genocide Memorial Taekwondo Championship in Kigali in June.
For Numukiza, taekwondo means more than medals. Apart from representing the Refugee Team in Dakar, she wants to use sports as a platform to inspire girls in Kakuma to stay in school as a way of fighting early marriage, and to sensitise communities against gender-based violence.
“Forced early marriages are common at the camp, and many young girls have lost hope and their dreams cut short. I hope to use sports to send out a strong message against early marriage and gender-based violence,” she says.
Two-time Olympic Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge with (from left) Nyataba Kuek, Flourence Masumbi, Clement Niyomuooza and Rochene Rashid, who are all members of the Refugee Olympics Junior Team, after a training session at Complete Sports Athletics Training Centre in Uasin Gishu County, on September 09, 2026.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
“Being a refugee from Congo, I want to help change my background back at home and promote peace at all times. I would like to see equality among men and women in the society. Women (at the camp) have been suppressed and I want to help change that,” she said.
She says that the sport has taught her love, respect and resilience and apart from competing and representing the Refugee Team, she also wants to equip girls with skills on self-defence to enable them defend themselves in case of physical attack at the camp.
“Taekwondo isn’t a tough sport, and anyone can become the best. There is a lot of insecurity at the refugee camp and girls can use the knowledge to defend themselves from attack by gangs. On the other hand, we don’t use the skill to harm innocent people,” Numukiza observes.
Currently in Grade Six pupil at Angelina Jolly Primary School, Numukiza admits that it is tough to balance education and sport. She hopes to impress in both and earn a scholarship to further her education and help her family.
She terms her interaction with two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge at the team’s unveiling in Kaptagat an eye-opening encounter.
