Rugby sevens star Kevin Wekesa: ‘I am not blaming Europeans but I must highlight climate injustices’
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- Kevin Wekesa is a Kenyan rugby sevens star who will compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
- Kevin Wekesa founded Play Green, a sport‑climate organization that has introduced reusable water bottles to Kenya’s men’s and women’s national sevens teams, cutting roughly 1,000 plastic bottles each week.
- Kevin Wekesa received the 2025 IOC Climate Action Award for his climate work, including free school coaching and climate‑change education.
- Kevin Wekesa met UNEP executive director Inger Andersen in April to discuss banning single‑use plastic at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya will co‑host with Uganda and Tanzania.
- Play Green aims to embed climate‑justice education in Kenyan schools, arguing that children inherit the crisis and can take small actions like water conservation.
Why it matters: Kenyan rugby clubs and schools gain reduced plastic waste and healthier environments, while plastic manufacturers lose sales; the weekly cut of ~1,000 bottles translates into tangible waste reduction and raises climate‑justice awareness among youth.
