BONA reports organisers for Cybercrime
Organisers of the much publicised BW Netball Awards got a rude awakening this week when Botswana Netball Association (BONA) reported them to the Cyber Forensic Branch.
The awards initially slated for 28th November had to be cancelled as the organisers had violated cyber crime regulations.
In an interview with Voice Sport, BONA President Malebogo Raditladi said they did not know anything about the intended BW Netball Sports Awards until the organisers were taken to task this week.
“We did not know anything about these particular awards as the organisers are not even affiliated to BONA. We then reported the matter to the police and the organisers to their credit admitted that they were in the wrong,” Raditladi told Voice Sport.
“It was evident from the onset that the organiser did not follow the right procedure. He was ordered to cancel the planned awards and also apologise to the association,” revealed Raditladi.
The man behind the failed awards was however gracious in defeat. Edwin Mothoiwana who’s also the founder of Rocky Giants Netball Club said they have accepted their mistake and are looking forward to find other ways of working with local players to bring excitement back to netball fans.
“Yes, BONA reported us for Cybercrime. We were at fault for not following the right channels and have since made a formal apology to the association,” he said.
The pragmatic Mothoiwana further expressed his deep sadness at the way things have turned out after all the spade work had been done to bring well-wishers and sponsors on board.
“It is really a sad situation. We were all looking forward to the historic awards, unfortunately it was never to be,” said a rather dejected Mothoiwana.
He further told Voice Sport that numerous sponsors such as Youth on the Run Organisation, Brothers and Sisters Organisation and PDGR had alreajdy come on board.
“We were only trying to bring back the hype that used to be associated with this sport we love dearly,” he said.
Meawhile BONA President could not be further engaged on the progress she has made since assuming office in 2017.
Her phone rang unanswered and could not be reached at the time of going to print.
Raditladi took the reins in 2017 immediately after the Netball Youth World Cup which was held in Gaborone.
Since then, local netball teams last had action in the 2018 league season that lasted on six weeks.
Following the Youth World Cup, there was hope that netball would build on the legacy left by an impressive Dinaletsana who put on breath-taking performances against world powerhouses such as Jamaica.
It has been a rather slow start in the office for Raditladi she and her team are racing against time to secure a sponsor for the national league.
The lack of sponsorship has adversely affected the growth of netball in the country as evidently shown by a series of poor performances by the national team.
