Thebe in trouble as deadline looms
Baboloki Thebe’s chances of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are diminishing by the day. Thebe failed to qualify for the Olympics during a Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) event held at the National Stadium over the weekend.
He is now going to miss an international race scheduled for Madrid, Spain tomorrow after failing to acquire a visa. According to information reaching Mmegi Sport, Thebe was supposed to travel on Monday.
“For him to apply for a visa, the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) should have written a cover letter. His manager in Italy had made his travel arrangements. But it seems like BAA did not want to release him. But then the association turned around and said Thebe’s manager had not communicated with them. They felt that there was interference since his manager was pushing them, ” a source said.
For his part, Thebe said the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Tumiso Rakgare contacted him on Tuesday asking if he had travelled.
“I informed him that I was travelling on Tuesday because I felt that if I told him the truth, BAA would feel like I am reporting them to the minister. My manager sent my race invitation to BAA a fortnight ago,” he said.
Thebe said he missed another race in Europe that was held on June 9 due to the same reasons.
On Tuesday, Thebe approached the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) requesting a cover letter. Unfortunately, he was not assisted and he then approached the ministry.
Director of Sport, Moreetsi Bogosi finally wrote the cover letter and the arrangements were that Thebe was to travel to Namibia and apply for the visa on Thursday. However, there was another twist as the athlete was informed that he could not travel before taking the Pfizer COVID-19 jab.
Mmegi Sport is informed that he will take the jab today (Friday).
BAA vice president, Oabona Theetso told Mmegi Sport that the last time Thebe’s issue cropped up, he was informed that the athlete had applied for the visa.
When informed that Thebe could not get a cover letter from BAA, Theetso said he was not aware of such and promised to follow up on the matter.
“It is unfortunate that he elevated the matter to the ministry skipping me as vice president-administration. That issue is under my portfolio. The minister must stay distant from this issue,” Theetso said.
He said Thebe should familiarise himself with protocol. He said he was unhappy to learn about Thebe’s issue through the media.
“It is a non-starter, he should not go to the ministry with such issues unless he has given up on us or if he felt we could not assist him,” he said.
The closing date for athletics qualifications is June 30, 2021. It will be a blow if Thebe fails to make the cut as he has always been a crucial member of the relay team. The other members of the team are not fit while some are in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.