D-Day as BNOC votes
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday October 24, 2025 10:46
Tshenyego was re-elected for a second term in November 2021, having previously served as the BNOC senior vice president and has been in a leadership role since 2009. The elections will take place during the Quadrennial General Assembly at the Oasis Motel in Tlokweng. There will be one vote per the 29 National Federations (NFs).
The much-anticipated elections have attracted interest from individuals who want to take over the reins.
For Tshenyego's replacement, there are three candidates, who include the current senior vice president, Tshepo Sitale, current BNOC board member, Yarona Sharp and former Botswana National Sport Commission (BNOC) board member, Ookeditse Malesu.
The three engaged in a live debate on national television on Sunday where they outlined their visions.
For the senior vice president position, the current first vice president, Michael Moroka will go head-to-head against the wrestling president, Moagi Sharp.
Speaking to MmegiSport, Sharp said he has a strong belief that his experience and skills gained over the years can have an impact on sport development.
He explained that the most important thing is to advocate for the inclusion of all the sporting codes when selecting national teams for international events and also to treat them equally. “Another thing is to improve how sport is run in Botswana by engaging former athletes,” he said.
“If I am part of the BNOC board, I can be able to make a change and change the level of sport in Botswana because I know and I have experienced all the challenges of forming, growing, and promoting a sporting code under a challenging environment.”
Sharp noted sport is facing a challenge of funding whereby the funding model used by the BNSC is not fair. He said only so-called major sporting codes continue to grow and the minor sporting ones carry on with the suffering.
The senior vice president aspirant added that the other challenge is grassroots development and there is a continuous rotation of players especially in the senior national football team.
“I advocate for all the sporting codes to be assisted with funding and equipment to do grassroots development. We usually send small teams to international events and start to put pressure on our athletes.
“If we have multiple sporting codes, we can stand a better chance of scooping more medals at the Olympic Games,” Sharp said.
For his part, Moroka said he had nothing to say about the campaign but indicated that for the presidency, he supports Sitale.
The battle for the first vice president position sees Tennis president, Oaitse Thipe, former Rugby president, Bob Lekan, and current board member, Tebo Segaise battle it out.
Thipe said he wants to bring college sport partnerships and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with good sporting universities.
He said many athletes can benefit from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) scholarships and they do not have to rely solely on government to qualify for the Olympics.
“Top players such as Denzel Seetso, Ekua Refilwe Youri are currently based at good universities in California and they are going to be pushing for Olympic qualification in 2028,” he explained.
“Countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana and others always send large numbers of players to the Olympics, that is because they have players in American Colleges.” Thipe said he wants to bring developmental facilities to the private sector, especially hotels, as there is a need for partnerships with such establishments or the private sector to build sports facilities.
He mentioned that he is representing the National Sport Associations (NSAs) in the crafting of a new Sport Bill with the Ministry of Sport and Arts alongside the BNSC.
On the other hand, Segaise said her vision for performance and team is athlete-centred pathways, which means developing clear and sustainable pathways that nurture athletes from grassroots to elite levels.
Her roadmap includes integration of sport science and technology, through strengthening the use of data analytics, nutrition, psychology, and injury prevention to enhance athlete performance.
She is also focused on gender equality and inclusion, which is primarily concerned with promoting greater representation and participation of women and youth in sport through mentorship and targeted programmes.
Segaise said her plan is on safeguarding and athlete welfare, which includes embedding and safeguarding frameworks within all high-performance structures to protect, empower, and support athletes.
“My vision is to propel Botswana’s athletes to global success through structured preparation, empowered leadership, and holistic support systems,” she said.
Lekan had not responded to MmegiSport inquiries on his vision at press time.
The battle for the second vice president position is between Botswana Cycling Association secretary general, Game Mompe and BNOC board member, Unaswi Matebu.
Matebu has served on the board since 2021 and is also the founder of the BNOC Sustainability Commission. She said through the roles, she gained valuable insight into the organisation’s culture, operations, and strategic direction.
“I am confident that this experience has equipped me well to serve effectively as the second vice president of the BNOC. My key areas of focus will be monitoring organisational performance and ensuring accountability and transparency,” she said.
“Also, (I will focus on) strengthening governance, compliance, and risk management (as well as) promoting the welfare and safeguarding of athletes, staff, officials, and administrators.”
Matebu said with her background in governance and sustainability, she is committed to helping the BNOC strengthen its systems and embed long-term, sustainable practices across all areas of its operations.
Mompe did not respond to MmegiSport's questionnaire. Taolo Tlouetsile, Ofentse Bakwadi, Boikobo Gaolebalwe, Ndibo Lebala, and Kebalebile Ramontsho will fight for the three additional member slots.