�Humble� Nkabiti Laid To Rest In Francistown
Chakalisa Dube | Monday May 8, 2017 15:13
Also present at the ‘The Hit Man’s funeral was Botswana’s High Commissioner to Zimbabwe and former Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Commander, Matshwenyego Fischer who spoke briefly at the funeral. Nkabiti worked at BDF during Fischer’s reign. Manuel Fernandez, Nkabiti’s South African coach was also in attendance.
Nkabiti died last week in South Africa after sustaining head injuries in a professional fight against South African boxer, Willis Baloyi. He was laid to rest at Gerald Estates cemetery. Several speakers described Nkabiti as a true embodiment of humility, determination and honesty.
Also labelled by speakers as a ‘catalyst for change in the society, Nkabiti was also a philanthropist and aspiring politician. Another factor revealed at the funeral was that Nkabiti could have prophesied his demise.
Nkabiti’s mother, Kerapetse Nkabiti remembered her son for his sheer bravery, which perhaps explains why he fell in love with boxing. “Nkabiti was brave and overprotective to his family.”
She said he was not afraid to take on an elder if he felt that he or she was not doing something in the right manner, especially towards his family. She said his son did not want people to offend her and would do anything to her. Kerapetse added that his son loved peace and was a God fearing man. Initially Kerapetse did not support her son’s decision to venture into boxing, but gave in because he showed no signs of quitting the sport. “After a while I started praying for him before he went for a fight. On many occasions (before going for a fight) he would phone me requesting that I pray for him. I prayed for him last year when he went for a fight in South Africa and he won. When he came back, he was so excited that I blessed him,” she said.
Phillip Matante East councillor, Uyapo Nyeku who joined the army in the early 2000s with Nkabiti said the latter’s success in the boxing field was not a fluke. He said Nkabiti always wanted to become a top boxer and was not surprised when he ditched the army in 2008 to become a professional boxer.
According to Nyeku, Nkabiti who belonged to the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) also harboured ambitions of contesting for council elections for Boikhutso ward at the 2019 general polls. At the time of his demise, Nkabiti was the chairperson of Boikhutso ward development committee where he turned the committee into a vibrant entity, raising funds and resources for charity amongst others.
His manager Malcom Motele recollected some of the last key memories with Nkabiti, where they visited a funeral parlour to discuss sponsorship issues. “He pointed at the coffins and asked me if I fear them. I wondered why he asked me such a question. Maybe it is because he foresaw his death,” Motele said.
What deeply hurt Motele is that Nkabiti died before he fulfilled his long-time dream of having a title fight in Botswana, particularly in Francistown. Boxing South Africa vice president, Dr Malefetsane Peter Ngatane also shared with mourners moments leading to Nkabiti’s death.
“On the sixth round of the fight he went to the corner of the ring showing indications that he was not right. Initially his coach sprayed him with water in the face, but soon realised that something was not right. He was attended to by doctors within the ring then taken to hospital where he had a head scan. The scan showed that he had a blood clot on the head.” Ngatane said that Nkabiti was later transferred to another hospital where he was to have an operation, but died while being stabilised before the operation. Prior to the fight Nkabiti did a routine test, which showed that he was fit to fight.
“We have had boxers who experienced a similar injury to the one suffered by Nkabiti. They were treated and made full recovery. Based on these cases we have had before I did not anticipate that he will die,” he said.
Ngatane said the death of Nkabiti will strengthen the relationship between boxers in South Africa and Botswana with a sole purpose of growing the sport in the two countries. Ngakane revealed that the African Boxing Union also plans to launch an annual boxing tournament in honour of Nkabiti in collaboration with the Botswana Professional Boxing Association.