Orapa dominate GBV karate tourney
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday June 2, 2026 09:49
Speaking to Sport Monitor, Orapa coach Keabetswe Puke revealed that they did not prepare much for the tournament as they had grading the weekend before the event.
'We only had a week to prepare for the tournament. My athletes delivered more than I expected. I knew we were going to win some medals, but not to dominate the way we did. My target was six or seven gold medals,' Puke said.
The tournament is held to raise awareness around gender-based violence (GBV), which is prevalent in the country.
Botswana Defence Force (BDF) commander, General Mpho Mophuting who was a guest, praised the initiative.
Speaking to Sport Monitor, Mophuting said even when President Duma Boko officiated at the recent 21st BDF Strategic Conference at Sir Seretse Khama Barracks, the main topic was GBV.
“Like I always say, GBV does not only affect our institution, it affects the entire nation. We are Batswana, even if we are soldiers, we are part of the community. Whatever happens out there, affects us,” he said.
“It is important to start when it comes to the younger generation, we have to start with the boy child that they need to take certain responsibilities. They have to understand that life is not easy, there are going to be challenges in life and these challenges come, you have to deal with them in a mature way, in a collected way and focused. They should know that committing GBV is not a solution to that.”
The organiser of the event and founder of Women’s Self Defence Botswana, Boitumelo Koone said the idea to host the karate tournament was influenced by the spiking GBV cases in the country.
He said karate is being used to instill discipline amongst the youth who are mostly affected by the GBV scourge.
“When the girl child has been taught self defense they will be able to protect themselves from becoming GBV victims. When boy child has been instilled with discipline, they are able to be responsible citizens. “When the boy child has discipline, they will be able to persevere through challenges, and develop the skills they need to progress in life. Research shows that approximately two-thirds (nearly 70 percent) of women in this country experience some form of abuse in their lifetime, including physical and sexual violence,” Koone said.
He said the plan was to involve different sporting codes but, unfortunately they did not turn up. Koone said the other challenge of organising the event is lack of support in terms of sponsorship.