The rise, fall and rise of Reikeletseng

One day in 2021, the nation woke to a shocking black and white image of Reikeletseng placed under the Botswana Police’s ‘wanted person’ section. By then, Reikeletseng was already a far cry from the rocking, bubbly and assertive sports administrator who had held the longest reign as BNSC chairperson. The phoenix lived for 500 years before it built its funeral pyre where it burst into flame and died.

In contrast, Reikeletseng was at the helm of the BNSC for eight years before being pushed out of office by then Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Tshekedi Khama in 2019. It marked the start of a downward spiral, which sent the Francistown native from a rising go-getter into reclusiveness. After controversies and personal troubles, Reikeletseng emerged out of mothballs this past weekend when he won the trust of Francistown South Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) members to be their representative when the country goes to the polls in October.