Maqonda Ndlovu
Namibia’s Helalia Johannes, Lahja Ishitile and Christine Mboma scooped three individual awards at the African Union Sport Council (Ausc) Region Five Annual Sports Awards held at Esibayeni Lodge, Matshapa, in Eswatini on Saturday evening.
Johannes captured the Sports Woman of the Year Award, while Ishitile was named Sports Woman of the Year with a Disability and Mboma claimed the Junior Sports Woman of the Year Award.
The other Namibian athletes who competed at this event includes Ananias Shikongo who was nominated in the category Sportsman of the Year with a Disability and Peter Shalulile who was nominated for the Sportsman of the Year.
Speaking from Eswatini, sport commission executive Freddy Mwiya said Namibia has won all the three major awards of the night.
“We are quite very much excited with Namibia. We brought in five nominees and three of them scooped the top prizes. The other two nominees were also very much close. We, therefore, call on corporate Namibia to support our athletes because they are doing very well. Everybody was impressed with the performance and achievements of Namibians in the past year,” he said.
Mwiya also said Namibia was close to winning Country of the Year, but had to concede to Zambia.
“We just need to implement projects as Zambia to win that category,” he said.
Namibia won the main three awards, ahead of South Africa, Zambia and Botswana who also won three awards apiece.
Eswatini won one award.
Namibia had bagged six nominations for the Region 5 Annual Sports Awards (Rasa). jrnmarko@gmail.com