Sikwane captures Khumalo's rise in compelling book

Sikwane's adoration for Khumalo drove him to write a biography. PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Sikwane's adoration for Khumalo drove him to write a biography. PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

Growing up, Olebile Sikwane had undiluted admiration for South African soccer legend, Doctor '16V' Khumalo. He watched the dazzling midfielder dish out top-drawer performances every week, particularly for Kaizer Chiefs, in a career that took Khumalo overseas. But, concerned that future generations might not have any comprehensive literature about Khumalo's exploits, Sikwane's affinity has snowballed into a biography, titled ‘Doctor Khumalo South Africa', which was produced recently.

“The inspiration to write this book comes as a consequence of my affinity to Kaizer Chiefs. I grew up during CCV TV. We watched Kaizer Chiefs, it was the most successful club, winning everything and Doctor Khumalo was second only to Chris Hani in terms of popularity, with Nelson Mandela in Robben Island prison,” said Sikwane. He said he was motivated by Khumalo’s popularity as he had “never seen such a powerful and influential player, and brand”.

“Even here in Botswana, he was big. I was further attracted to him by his ability to lure multinationals to his brand as brand ambassador for BMW, Puma, SportPesa, Debonairs, MTN and many others. That for me was enough inspiration and I wanted to chronicle this journey for generations to look back on, to understand the genius Doctor Khumalo was.”

Editor's Comment
Routine child vaccination imperative

The recent Vaccination Day in Motokwe, orchestrated through collaborative efforts between UNICEF, USAID, BRCS, and the Ministry of Health, underscores a commendable stride towards fortifying child health services.The painful reality as reflected by the Ministry of Health's data regarding the decline in routine immunisation coverage since the onset of the pandemic, is a cause for concern.It underscores the urgent need to address the...

Have a Story? Send Us a tip
arrow up