Date of Birth: 27 April 1994
Place of Birth: Windhoek, Namibia
Occupation:GIZ Regional Programmes Advisor for Sport for Development in Africa
How did you get involved with basketball? Take us through the journey.
I started playing basketball since grade seven when a friend and classmate, Penda, invited me to the UN Plaza for some games. During the grade eight application process, I applied to Immanuel Shifidi Secondary School, and they offered basketball as a sport code. So, my mom and I agreed that I should try a different sport apart from football and athletics. I was still a developing player and didn’t play a lot, but I showed a lot of promise. I attended a NBF basketball camp at Unam in 2007, and was selected for the national team’s development programme. From my days at Immanuel Shifidi to Jacob Marengo and then Windhoek International, my basketball career was on an upward trajectory and as they say, the rest is history.
Last year, you were appointed the secretary general of the Namibia Basketball Federation (NBF). How has the journey been?
The journey has been exciting, but also filled with challenges. Coming into office during the time of Covid-19 meant it was not business as usual, and we needed to be more innovative and stay relevant, despite the ravaging pandemic.
What would you say has been some of your biggest achievements and challenges since taking office?
We have achieved a lot of milestones, and it is hard to say which one is the biggest as all were significant and pivotal to the basketball movement. But to highlight a few, we landed a corporate sponsor in the shape of Vivo Energy for the federation, and FNB was also another partner that came on board. Launching the NBF 2025 Strategy themed ‘Together we are Basketball’ was another pivotal accomplishment as we were able to communicate our vision with the entire country and lastly, hosting the 3×3 national tournament.
You recently visited Senegal, where you had an opportunity to learn and exchange notes with your counterparts. What are some of the takeaways from your visit that you think Namibia should emulate and implement locally to further develop the sport?
My visit was an eye-opener as Senegal is a renowned sporting nation, especially in basketball. The sport infrastructure in that country is world-class, especially in the city of Dakar. The NBA Academy in that country, called the SEED Basketball Academy, has produced so many players playing in the NBA, and we are now planning to set up exchange programmes.
Speaking of development, what are some of your long-term and short-term goals for the NBF?
Our long-term development objective is the provision of basketball courts countrywide, and participating in International Basketball Federation qualifiers. The short-term goal is seeing basketball active in all 14 regions, with well-funded regional associations.
Last year, the federation appointed coaches for the various teams. What have been some of the achievements by the coaches?
The national coaches kicked off with inaugural zonal games for talent identification, and they were able to scout for talent from U/16 to U/23, with the aim to set up databases for national team-building.
Still on the development front, do you think the NBF gets enough funding and support to fully take the game to all parts of the country?
Funding in sports at the moment is not sufficient for the nationwide rollout of development programmes. However, we are glad to have partners such as the sports ministry, education ministry, the Namibia Sports Commission, and the Namibia National Olympic Committee.
Our partners are always ready to coordinate to make sure that basketball reaches every child. However, we are still engaging the private sector and looking into strategies to become self-sustainable in order to fully carry out our mandate of basketball development.
Are you happy with the state and number of basketball infrastructure countrywide?
The state of basketball has improved, with more regions now starting to set up associations and also participating in regional games. This upward trajectory is encouraging for us tasked with leading the federation. In terms of infrastructure, there is still room for improvement, and it will be nice to have our own basketball arena to host national and international games in the future.
The sport of basketball is not as popular as other codes, especially at school level. What do you think needs to be done for basketball to reach its full potential at all levels of competition?
We need to capacitate school teachers, especially physical education (PE) teachers, to offer basketball to the learners, and have active regional associations to develop school leagues. Only then will basketball reach all Namibian youth.
What’s your general take on the current status of basketball in Namibia?
Tremendous strides have been made for basketball to be put on the national agenda by decision-makers and role- players. But there is still more to be done in the areas of capacity development, welfare and international participation.