It had been initially agreed between BOKA and SKI that the karate style would be issued with membership. Speaking to MmegiSport, BOKA president Mpho Bakwadi, said they rejected the application because SKI failed to show proof that they have been members of the international federation for more than 36 months. He explained that the BOKA constitution, Article 4.2.5, states that new applicants must have been affiliated with or have a membership acceptance from an international body for at least 36 months.
“They meet other requirements such as the chief instructor whose rank shall be at least 5th Dan black belt of a style recognised by the World Karate Federation (WKF) and BOKA Dan regulations policy. Another requirement includes that affiliation to BOKA shall be limited to the organisations or federations or unions or hombu dojos registered with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) or CIPA (Companies and Intellectual Property Authority) meeting the following requirements; practising a style of karate recognised by WKF; must have a minimum of five clubs that are duly registered with the ROS. We did not have a problem with the proof that they submitted,” he said. Bakwadi said it was unfortunate that SKI chief instructor, Steady Basupang, gave him an ultimatum and a deadline of January 30, 2025, regarding their membership. He mentioned that he has since responded to the letter.
For his part, Basupang said he wrote a letter to BOKA and copied affiliates expressing his displeasure regarding his membership application. He explained that he applied for BOKA membership in January 2024 and BOKA only responded in March. “The issue of membership has long been discussed and cleared, all we want is a membership confirmation letter. Our membership could have been ratified during the BOKA Annual General Meeting (AGM) because of the delay by the executive committee. Bakwadi is speaking to one section of the constitution, he failed to read the entire section because it gives two options which qualifies us to be members. I have met with them to explain the clause because it was an issue of interpretation,” Basupang said.
BOKA had agreed to give SKI Botswana provisional membership so that they could send some of their athletes to the 2024 Commonwealth Karate Championships. He said that was impossible because SKI Botswana is not a BOKA member. Basupang said he has been making a follow-up on the letter because his federation meets all the requirements to be a BOKA member, adding that probably the karate leadership fears that when he becomes a member, he might join the disgruntled members who want to oust the leadership. Basupang said he intends to request the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) to intervene in the matter.
He said affiliates will also be copied in the letter because it is up to them to ratify his membership because the executive committee failed to present the matter during the last AGM.
