Despite dominating the first half, Kenya conceded with two minutes left to the break from the penalty spot.
A mistake by Gor Mahia defender after fouling Equatorial Guinea’s Josete Miranda saw the referee point to the spot. The 27-year-old, who plays for Super League Greece 2 club Kalamata, dusted himself up to take the penalty, and he smashed home past Bryne Omondi for a 1-0 lead.
Kenya had almost taken the lead in the 13th minute when Jonah Ayunga found space inside the area but shot straight into the hands of Jesús Owono.
They put the ball into the net in the 18th minute, when Ayunga lobbed the ball past Owono, but before he could celebrate, the flag was up for offside.
Kenya continued to dominate after that, but were not able to utilise their chances.
Another great chance for Harambee Stars arrived in the 30th minute when Kevin Otiende exchanged passes with Boniface Muchiri, but the Ulinzi Stars winger hit his effort wide.
Ayunga then wasted another opportunity five minutes later after being set up by Sylvester Owino. The Gor Mahia player saw Ayunga larking alone outside the box, and he set him up with a lovely pass. However, despite being in a one-on-one situation with Owono, the St Mirren striker hit a feeble shot which could not find the net.
Ayunga, Ryan Ogam and Muchiri continued to dominate, but they were not able to break the deadlock, and Harambee Stars were forced to pay when the Nzalang Nacional took the lead courtesy of a well-taken penalty from Miranda.
Equatorial Guinea started the second period on the upper hand with forward Pablo Garnet watching helplessly as his effort was cleared off the line.
The strong start by Equatorial Guinea forced Kenya coach Benni McCarthy to make his first changes, with Austin Odhiambo and Ovella Ochieng coming in for William Lenkupae and Muchiri. A few minutes later, the South African legend made another double change, with Alphonce Omija and Sharrif Musa replacing Michael Kibwage and youngster Ogam.
Kenya almost levelled matters in the 78th minute when substitute Odhiambo latched onto a pass from Rooney Onyango, but he put his right-footed effort over the bar.
The positive side for Kenya in the build-up game was the introduction of youngster Aldrine Kibet for his debut with the senior team.
Harambee Stars will return to action against Senegal on November 18th at the Mardan Sports Complex.
The friendly came just a month after Kenya played their last 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Burundi and Ivory Coast. Harambee Stars defeated the Swallows of Burundi 1-0 away before losing 3-0 against the African champions.
