The women's 5000 metres at the 2012 African Championships in Athletics was held at the Stade Charles de Gaulle on 28 June.
| Gold | Gladys Cherono | |
| Silver | Veronica Nyaruai | |
| Bronze | Gotytom Gebreslase |
| Standing records prior to the 2012 African Championships in Athletics | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World record | 14:11.15 | Oslo, Norway | 6 June 2008 | ||
| African record | 14:11.15 | Oslo, Norway | 6 June 2008 | ||
| Championship record | 15:43.46 | Algiers, Algeria | 2000 | ||
| Broken records during the 2012 African Championships in Athletics | |||||
| Championship record | 15:40.04 | Porto Novo, Benin | 28 June 2012 | ||
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:40.04 | CR | ||||
| 15:40.65 | |||||
| 15:53.34 | |||||
| 15:55.36 | |||||
| 16:14.49 | |||||
| 16:16.21 | |||||
| 18:02.34 | |||||
| 18:17.72 | |||||