Farewell to an illustrious age mate

JAMES MOOKI AND PHILLIP MAKGALEMELE | Friday April 13, 2007 00:00

 

As our friend and colleague in business, we used to call him 'Nkane' meaning 'age mate'.  We vividly recall one evening when we had gone out for entertainment after a football game and as we were calling each other 'Nkane', one old man remarked: 'You guys, do you all share one name'. We all burst into laughter.

 

Our association with Panene covers: Lesedi Primary School; Gaborone Secondary School (GSS); Notwane (as a goalkeeper, assistant coach and coach at the time of his death); coach of the national Under-23 side and assistant coach of the Zebras. Panene got the nickname 'Banks' from the 1966 World Cup winning England goalkeeper Gordon Banks. The much older football followers in the 1970s and 1980s associated his acrobatic saves to those of the English goalkeeper. 

 

This was at a time when Panene was at Lesedi. He consolidated his reputation at GSS where he was the main attraction since he was understudying Sexton Kowa at Mochudi Centre Chiefs. So he would usually be trained by Kowa at Chiefs and by Lele Sebele at GSS. It was interesting because Sebele and Kowa were opponents at Gaborone United and Chiefs respectively. At another level, Banks had contacts, for example with ABC Motsepe who was his mentor. His association with such people meant that he had access to good equipment, which he used for the benefit of GSS where he played his best games against St Joseph's College.

 

The reason why we are convinced that he was able to do things for the first time, including those not done before is illustrated by, among others, his achievement as Township Rollers' coach. At Rollers he won promotion to the Premier League; won the Premier League and Coca-Cola Cup in the same year.  This case study is surely the only one in Botswana. He is a rare example of a man who successfully combined participation in football, academic advancement (when doing his degree in Physical Education at the University of Botswana) and managing his transport business which he started while still a football player.

 

Banks believed in perseverance and commitment to football development. At team level, he started playing for the Township Rollers' juniors. He was an under-study to Kowa at Chiefs at the age of 16. As a player, he was also stand-in coach at Notwane before he took up the job fulltime.

At Notwane, he performed various roles ranging from playing, coaching and a stand-in driver at times.  For example in the early 1990s, he drove with Phil to Zambia to recruit players for Notwane. Both were still players when they performed the task. Their efforts resulted in the recruitment of Boyd Chilembo and Rodrick Chipeta. 

 

In recent times, when Notwane faced financial challenges going to Ethiopia for its CAF Cup game, he volunteered to drive the team in his mini-bus to Johannesburg to connect the flight to Ethiopia. He left the bus there until the team came back.  He volunteered to drive the Botswana Football Association (BFA) bus recently when the senior national team went to South Africa to play Supersport United and Moroka Swallows before the 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier against Burundi.

 

As an assistant coach of the Zebras (where he interacted mainly with Phil), Nkane was a source of inspiration for the team and supported Colwyn Rowe. We are sure that Rowe will dearly miss him.  As Banks departs this world, he lives a legacy and wealth of best life practices which we should learn from as a nation.

 

It is clear that he believed that football development must be supported by a livelihood programme.  That is why he started business at a fairly youthful age but still continued to be involved at various levels of football development.  He was a determined person who was positive about life. Because of this, he succeeded in every initiative of his life.  He is a clear example of the saying that: 'Where there is a will, there is a way.'

 

We should perhaps honour him in the football family by ensuring that we continue to strive for excellence and commit ourselves to achieving high standards. Nkane's funeral service will be held at the National Stadium tomorrow morning. May his soul rest in peace and his legacy live on.