… calls it quits at Athletics Namibia
WINDHOEK – Officials of Athletics Namibia are struggling to keep the lid on the boiling pot of goings-on at the union following the shock resignation of its president and the country’s athletics icon and globally acclaimed sprinter, Frank Fredericks.
Sources close to Athletics Namibia revealed to New Era Sport that Fredericks downed tools in the aftermath of an apparent heated debate during the union’s council meeting in Windhoek last weekend.
Details of the said disagreement that propelled Fredericks’ hasty departure remain sketchy but an insider let it slip through the spoken tongue that Fredericks cited family reasons, however hinting that he would remain available to assist the union should the need arise.
The Namibian athletics idol apparently angrily stormed out of the gathering – only to resurface in the shape of an email message ordering the union in no uncertain terms to remove its furniture and other belongings from his premises at Pasteur Street in the residential area of Windhoek West within the next few days.
Fredericks was overwhelmingly elected Athletics Namibia president during a well-attended Elective Congress in Otjiwarongo in 2009, before he was re-elected for another 4-year term last year. The Namibian athletics blue-eyed boy unsaddled controversial former AN president Alpha Kangueehi, aka “Barry White” the only other contestant for the AN hot seat in absentia.
Approached for comment, Fredericks confirmed his departure saying he was obliged to quit his post as a result of pressing family matters. “Look, there is nothing sinister about my decision to exit Athletics Namibia, it’s just that I need to spend some quality time with my family. I believe my departure will not affect the progress of AN, they have capable leaders in the current structures and I can only predict a great future for Athletic Namibia,” said Fredericks.
Interestingly, the receptionist at the AN would not answer in the customary “good day, you have reached the office of Athletics Namibia” but rather chose to make reference to the Frank Fredericks Foundation (FFF), a response that could be construed as confirming Fredericks’ resignation.
By Carlos Kambaekwa