Did the Bathai committee fail?
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday January 30, 2015 17:00
Million Masumbika (May 2012-May 2014): He was the president of BOKA for two years before losing to Bathai last year. During his tenure, Masumbika was one of the two Batswana referees at the World Karate Federation (WKF) and became the first Motswana to be accredited by WKF.
He was appointed Zone Six president in 2013 and also became the first president of UFAK. During the 2014 Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) awards, he was nominated as the administrator of the year.
BOKA received nominations in junior sportsperson of the year, coach of the year, national team of the year and sports man of the year.
The national team participated in the Kofukan World Championships in Durban and the Commonwealth Karate Championships in Canada and won medals. The team also brought gold medals from the Zone Six championships in Namibia.
Tshepo Bathai (May 2014-December 2014): Bathai was the president of the association for seven months and resigned from office in December due to internal squabbling. During his short stay, he spearheaded the formation of the Botswana Karate Foundation, the BOKA website and introduced a funeral scheme for karatekas.
The association sent Khaya Groth and Mpho Bakwadi for training in America, while Thato Malunga, Boitumelo Koone and Tebogo Molapong went to Belgium.
During the Gaborone African Youth Games in May, Botswana won a silver medal in individual kata and a gold in male kumite.
The team won bronze medals in the women and men’s kumite; gold in boys kata and bronze in team kata.
Another bronze was from individual kumite. The national teams failed to attend international competitions last year due to the crisis that engulfed the association.