BoKA leave Dick hanging for alleged insubordination
The Botswana Karate Association (BoKA) has suspended its Secretary General (SG), Obusitse Dick, pending disciplinary hearing for his alleged insubordination at the AUSC Region 5 Karate Championship in Harare, Zimbabwe, earlier this month.
Dick travelled to the Zimbabwean capital as part of Team BW, where he was charged with safeguarding the squad’s well-being.
However, he is accused of violating BOKA’s constitution by ignoring a direct instruction from the President, Mpho Bakwadi.
In his suspension letter, dated 13 June, it states. “…you willfully and blatantly disobeyed a direct and reasonable instruction to handover funds to pay for athletes’ accommodation given by the current BOKA President. This act of insubordination not only disrupted the workflow but also displayed a complete lack of respect for the Association’s hierarchy.”
It is claimed the trouble started when the Team Manager was forced to spend the night at the border sorting out athletes’ affidavits. The rest of the team continued with the journey, with Dick taking charge of the finances in the Manager’s absence.
According to reports, when Team BW finally arrived in Harare on 9 June, President Bakwadi called Dick and told him to give the monies to BOKA Vice President, Union Kgafela, who was to pay for the crew’s lodging and food after a long, exhausting journey.
It seems Dick defied Bakwadi’s orders, stating he would not hand over the monies to anyone apart from the Team Manager.
It is also reported the SG was already on thin ice having defied the President’s instruction for the team to travel to Zim by bus for comfort and safety, with Dick instead opting to lease a combi, which sources described as ‘cheap’.
The previous month, Dick received a verbal warning for his conduct on 15 May after ‘appointing himself Manager of BNOC Beach Games 2023 without authority.’
It seems the association’s patience has finally snapped.
In a brief interview with Voice Sport, President Bakwadi warned they have no room for disrespect or committee members who come to work with a negative attitude.
“Our goal is to restore Karate’s image and integrity. We will crack the whip on anyone who tries to tarnish our organisation’s image!” declared the BOKA head.
Dick’s suspension overshadows what was an excellent showing from the national team in Zim, where Botswana won 47 medals (22 gold, 14 silver and 11 bronze) to finish second behind South Africa.
The disciplinary hearing is set for 21 days after Dick receives the suspension letter and is meant to give the suspended SG the chance to respond to the allegations and defend himself.
