Otniel Hembapu

Hesron Kapanga

Namibian boxing promoter Nestor Tobias yesterday apologised for the delay in paying the purses of foreign boxers who partook in the recent boxing bonanza in the capital, saying the delay in payment was caused by miscommunication between his company and banking institutions.

The ‘Together As One Part-8’ boxing bonanza took place at the Ramatex Hall about two weeks ago and as of yesterday, boxers from South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Nigeria who participated in the event were all still stuck in Windhoek, waiting to receive their participation payments.

South African trainer Bruno Perreira and his boxer Sabelo Ngebinyana yesterday told Sowetanlive they have been in Namibia waiting to receive their money for about two weeks now, saying they are tired and want to go back home.

Ngebinyana fought and lost to Namibia’s Fillipus Nghitumbwa during their WBO global junior featherweight contest. Perreira said the agreement was that Tobias would pay Ngebinyana on 30 October, but they are yet to be paid.  “Nestor wanted to send us home without Sabelo’s money, saying he will deposit it in the accounts, but Sabelo said we are going nowhere until we are paid. We are staying at the Windhoek Country Club; we eat and sleep, and Nestor has been footing the bill. I spoke to the chairperson of the Namibian Professional Boxing and Wrestling Control Board and she advised us to take the matter up with the WBO which sanctioned the fight. I told her that we fought under the auspices of her board and she promised to write a letter to Nestor,” said Perreira.

“He (Nestor) said he will pay us over the weekend and that did not happen. He said the bank manager is sick. He came to see us again and told us that he had problems with foreign exchange. The following day he came back and said he was waiting for the money to be cleared by the bank.”

Mubarak Yusuf, an agent of Saleh Gloves Promotions, said he has been in the country for too long waiting for money and his visa is about to expire.

“Since our fight 10 days ago, we have been told by Nestor that our money will be paid tomorrow and it’s now become 10 days. Today we went to see a bank manager but the money was not loaded and we are told a guy called Tim Ekandjo of MTC will come sign for the money but the bank is closed now without us getting the money,” Yusuf said.

Nampa reported the Ghanaian agent as saying his family is in danger back home due to the unpaid fees.

“We have a Nigerian boxer here with us and his people back home were told the money has been paid and they now think I have it. They told me if they don’t get their money anytime soon, they will go to my house and do whatever they want to my family,” narrated a distressed Yusuf.

Clyde Musonda, who is a regular visitor to Namibia with his boxers from Zimbabwe and Zambia, also told Nampa that Tobias is his long-time mentor and he doesn’t know what went wrong this time around.

“I have never experienced such things with Nestor before, and I am currently being the peacemaker between him and my colleagues from Ghana and Nigeria. We want to give the promoter time to sort out these issues but now things have gotten out of hand as people’s visas are about to expire and it’s hard to tell someone to relax,” Musonda said.

New Era Sport yesterday sought further clarity from Tobias, who shared that there was a miscommunication between his promotional company – Sunshine Promotions – and the banking institutions in releasing funds to pay the foreign boxers.

“I must, unfortunately, admit that there was a huge delay between my promotional company and the banks in clearing the money, and I really apologise to my fellow brothers for the unplanned delay. I know it has affected their return home and has also caused a lot of frustration, but we are busy sorting everything out as we speak,” said a remorseful Tobias.

“I can assure you that between today (yesterday) and tomorrow (today), all boxers should have received their money and should be equally on their way back home. I also notified the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) and the local boxing board about the delay in payment and we are all on the same page. But I really apologise to the colleagues.”

“It’s unfortunate, but these things happen in the business of boxing and I can only thank them for their patience thus far. We normally run a very smooth business, as you might have seen over the years, and our visiting boxers are always and continue to be a big priority to us, but this time around, we, unfortunately, encountered a small hiccup with our banking partners. But all will be sorted between today and tomorrow as indicated.”

Caption: Tobias jpg – Apologetic…Namibia’s boxing promoter Nestor Tobias