From the highs of Gaborone to the lows of Accra
Mqondisi Dube | Friday May 15, 2026 10:56
However, the start of the Championships, already missing top athletes, was marred by complaints of poor organisation.
Botswana has sent 25 athletes and seven officials to the competition being held at the University of Ghana Stadium. A team official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told MmegiSport that conditions in the West African country are deplorable.
'It is a mess. Very bad. This is why these championships will never attract elite athletes,' said the official from Ghana.
Top stars have chosen to participate in races in Europe, skipping what is supposed to be the continent's flagship competition.
'The championship is devoid of basics such as hot water and Wi-Fi at the athletes' village and stadium. Athletes run, but there is no scoreboard to reflect their times,' the official added.
World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, who was recently in Gaborone for the World Relays, attended the Africa Senior Championships' opening ceremony on Tuesday.
'We have confidence that Accra will provide a magnificent stage for Africa's greatest athletes to inspire and entertain over the course of the next six days,' Coe said during the official opening event.
Ghana's Minister of Sport and Recreation, Kofi Iddie Adams, was upbeat ahead of the start of the competition.
'From the moment Ghana was entrusted with this honour, we have worked closely with the Confederation of African Athletics and the local organising committee (LOC) to ensure everything is in place,' he said. However, a day into the competition, complaints were flooding in, with South African shotput champion, Aiden Smith, publicly criticising the organisation of the event.
'Well, I expected a lot when we got here. I expected a hotel at least. But when we got into the rooms, the beds were leather. We got sheets, we got a pillow, but no blanket. The aircon, we don't have an aircon remote. We had to go request at the reception for the aircon remote,' he told the media.
“You're not allowed to keep your aircon remote. You set it, then you give it back. There was no toilet paper. We had to go ask for toilet paper. There's no warm water. The water is at one temperature. There's no... Oh, the tap water doesn't work,” Smith added.
The athlete further complained about food arrangements, which he said restricted rations.
Botswana has been awarded the rights to host the 2028 edition of the biennial tournament and will be keen to build on the success of the recent World Relays, which received rave reviews across the globe.
The country sent a team devoid of some of its top stars to the Africa Senior Championships, but still has some recognised names in Lee Bhekimpilo Eppie, who was part of the gold-winning 4x400m team, Jayson Mandoze, Justice Oratile, Kethobogile Haingura, Victor Ntweng, Obakeng Kamberuka, and Oratile Nowe.