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Kenya and South Africa will face each other twice in the space of five days in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign. South Africa will host the first meeting on Friday, November 13, before the return fixture at Nyayo National Stadium on Tuesday, November 17, at 7:00 pm.

When Kenya and South Africa meet again in November, it will be more than another pair of Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The two countries have met only four times in the senior men's game since 1996, with South Africa winning three and one ending in a draw. But that one draw produced the most memorable moment of the fixture: Kenya eliminated Bafana Bafana on penalties in 2002.

That is the history Harambee Stars will carry into another double-header against South Africa this month.

The story of this fixture begins in 1996, when the two sides met at Kings Park in Durban. South Africa won 1-0, with Dumisa Ngobe scoring the only goal. Six years later came the meeting that remains the most intriguing.

On October 23, 2002, Kenya faced South Africa in the semi-final of the Castle Lager Cup at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium in Arusha, Tanzania.

South Africa went ahead in the 51st minute through Lebohang Kukame. Kenya's response came eight minutes later. Nicholas Muyoti stepped up from the penalty spot and levelled the match.

The former Harambee Stars captain would later become a coach in Kenyan football, but on that night he was one of the key figures in a Kenya side trying to reach the final. The match finished 1-1. Then came the penalties.

Kenya converted all five of its attempts through Ben Agunda, Geoffrey Osama, Dennis Oliech, Muyoti and Daniel Agina. South Africa scored three, while Kukame missed his effort as Kenya won the shootout 5-3.

There is, however, an interesting footnote to that victory. Official records still list the match as a 1-1 draw.

That is because the shootout decided which team progressed in the tournament, rather than changing the result of the match itself. So, in the history books, Kenya did not beat South Africa that night. But Kenya eliminated South Africa.

And that distinction makes the 2002 encounter one of the most unusual chapters in the two countries' football history.

Kenya went on to win the Castle Lager Cup. The final against Uganda also ended 1-1 before Kenya prevailed 3-2 on penalties, with Muyoti again among the scorers from the spot.

South Africa would get the better of Kenya in their next two meetings. In February 2011, Bafana Bafana won 2-0 in Rustenburg, with Davide Somma and Steven Pienaar scoring.

Then came the last meeting, in Nairobi in October 2012.

Tokelo Rantie gave South Africa the lead before Dennis Oliech equalised from the penalty spot. Kenya, however, were beaten after Christopher Wekesa put the ball into his own net, giving Bafana Bafana a 2-1 victory.

That remains the most recent meeting between the two sides. Fourteen years later, the fixture returns.

Kenya and South Africa will face each other twice in the space of five days in the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign. South Africa will host the first meeting on Friday, November 13, before the return fixture at Nyayo National Stadium on Tuesday, November 17, at 7:00 pm. FKF has confirmed the back-to-back fixtures and named a provisional Harambee Stars squad for the assignments.

The circumstances are different this time. Kenya are already assured of a place at the 2027 AFCON finals because they are co-hosts alongside Uganda and Tanzania. South Africa, meanwhile, are fighting for qualification from Group D.

For Harambee Stars, the matches provide an opportunity to test themselves against one of Africa's established football nations as preparations continue for the tournament on home soil.

And there is another reason this particular double-header stands out. Kenya's coach is South African.

Benni McCarthy spent much of his playing career representing Bafana Bafana and is one of the country's best-known footballers of his generation. Now he will lead Kenya against the country he once represented.

The first match will therefore put McCarthy in the unusual position of standing on the opposite side of the South African national team for the first time as Kenya's coach. South African media have already described the Johannesburg encounter as a homecoming of sorts for the former Bafana striker.

There is also a new face on the South African bench. Pitso Mosimane is now in charge of Bafana Bafana, meaning the November meetings will bring together two South Africans who have taken very different routes into the fixture, one leading his country, the other leading the country he now calls home.

But beneath the coaches and the AFCON qualification situation sits a history that began 30 years ago. South Africa leads the recorded head-to-head with three wins and one draw.

Kenya are still waiting for their first official victory over Bafana Bafana. Yet Kenya supporters have one result they remember differently from the statistics. In 2002, the match ended in a draw. Kenya won on penalties.

And more importantly, Kenya walked away having eliminated South Africa. Now, in November 2026, Harambee Stars get another chance to change what has otherwise been a one-sided chapter in the history of this fixture.