Karate’s old wine in a new bottle
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday June 17, 2023 06:00
A few months into office, BOKA president, Mpho Bakwadi suspended his secretary-general, Dick Othusitse Tshepang.
Through a suspension letter dated June 13, 2023, Bakwadi accused Tshepang of refusing to obey direct instructions from the BOKA president on June 9 during the Region 5 tournament in Zimbabwe. “Your behaviour is tantamount to insubordination. After careful consideration, your behaviour constitutes a serious breach of the association’s policies and professional conduct.
As a result, you are suspended with immediate effect pending a disciplinary hearing,” the letter reads. Bakwadi said it was not the first instance of insubordination, as on or about May 15, Tshepang had appointed himself as Africa Beach Games team manager. “You were given a verbal warning. You refused to hand over funds to pay for athletes’ accommodation.
A disciplinary hearing is scheduled within 21 days and you will not participate in any capacity as an executive committee member of BOKA,” the letter reads. The suspended secretary-general told Mmegi Sport that he received the suspension letter from Bakwadi through email while the president's brother Ofentse Bakwadi delivered a hardcopy at the BOKA office. “I was suspended because I refused to give them (Bakwadi brothers) a tender to transport the team to Zimbabwe. I opted for a bus and a 14-seater combi worth P36,000. They wanted a bus that was going to cost BOKA more than P40,000 even though our budget was small. I also refused to release funds in the absence of a BNSC officer,” he said. Tshepang said Bakwadi (Mpho) and his brother, Ofentse who is not part of the executive committee, suspended him.
He said the intention is to respond to the letter and it will be up to the executive committee to decide the way forward. “In the letter, it is stated that the suspension is pending a disciplinary hearing. I have no case to answer in my view. I have not been issued with a show cause letter, which should give me a chance to explain why a disciplinary hearing cannot be held against me.
A hearing is supposed to be conducted by the disciplinary committee, which is not in place as we speak,” Tshepang said. When asked if there was animosity between him and Bakwadi (Mpho), Tshepang said the animosity started when he opposed the appointment of Ofentse as the national team coach. “I strongly stood against the appointment because Ofentse does not have relevant qualifications as compared to other coaches,” he said. Tshepang said he was not aware of how other committee members felt about his suspension because Bakwadi (Mpho) has removed him from the executive's WhatsApp group. When asked if he will resign due to the tension, Tshepang said he is on the committee to serve the masses, not an individual. “Ahead of BOKA elections, one or two federations that were in the Bakwadi faction approached me.
I then declared my interest at the federation level hence JKA Botswana nominated me for the position,” he added. Meanwhile, ahead of the Zimbabwe trip, some athletes were dropped. Amongst those who were left behind was Maatla Moremedi. “I do not want to discuss the Moremedi issue because she has been my student but I had advised them to consider the fact that she had submitted a fitness certificate from her doctor. Instead, they rushed to the BNSC physiotherapist and came up with a letter saying she is not fit to compete and they followed it though they did not share the letter with the parent or the athlete,” he said.
Tshepang revealed that after the athlete was dropped on the eve of the Zimbabwe trip, he personally had to disclose to the parent because of the relationship he has with them. He said the issue was not well-handled because it was between Bakwadi and national team coach, China Metswi. Regarding refusing to hand over money for hotel bills, Tshepang explained that he had paid participation fees and hotel bills on time. “Hotel bookings were done and confirmed by myself. I was the contact person as per the bookings so what does the president want in hotel bookings?” he wondered.