Kenya's hopes of winning the Africa Women's Sevens on home soil ended on Sunday after Uganda beat the Lionesses 19-14 in a dramatic semi-final at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi.

The Lionesses recovered to win the bronze final 27-7 against Zimbabwe later on Sunday, finishing third in the 11-team tournament.

Uganda's Peace Lekuru scored the winning try with the last move of the semi-final, completing her brace and sealing a famous win for the Lady Cranes. It was Uganda's first victory over the Lionesses since 2023, when they beat Kenya to clinch the Safari 7s title.

Uganda made a blistering start, with Tina Akello and Lekuru scoring within the opening two minutes to give their side an early advantage. Kenya fought back through Freshia Oduor, and Uganda led 12-7 at the break.

The Lionesses took the lead in the second half when Sinaida Mokaya set up Janet Okello, and the conversion put Kenya 14-12 ahead with seconds remaining. But Uganda won a series of penalties, Lekuru tapped quickly and powered over the line, and her conversion completed a 19-14 victory.

Lekuru, the first Ugandan woman to play professional rugby, was the star of the semi-final, scoring twice.

Tunisia reached the gold final from the other semi-final, beating Zimbabwe 22-10. Tunisia led 10-5 at the break, Zimbabwe drew level at 10-10 through Robyn Mhembere, but tries from Nour Ayari and Zahra Haddaji sealed the win for the North Africans.

The gold final between Tunisia and Uganda kicked off at 4:32 p.m. on Sunday at RFUEA, with the continental title and Africa's only ticket to the 2027 HSBC SVNS 3 competition on the line. Uganda and Tunisia both arrived in the final unbeaten in the knockout stages.

Kenya's route to the semi-finals had started in style on Sunday morning, with a 52-0 demolition of Mauritius in the first quarter-final. Uganda knocked out defending champions South Africa 24-17 in the second quarter-final, Tunisia beat Madagascar 31-7, and Zimbabwe edged Zambia 12-5.

On Saturday, the Lionesses topped Pool B with two wins, beating Ghana 27-7 and Tunisia 19-0 at RFUEA. Kenya last won the African crown in 2018 and finished runners-up in 2025 after a 22-0 final defeat to South Africa.