Back in the day, unfashionable Khorixas outfit Robber Chanties Football Club boasted arguably one of the deadliest frontline combinations in domestic football. 

The uncompromising navy and gold strip outfit had in their armoury incredible sharpshooters in the mould of Benjamin ‘Kleintjie’ Gaseb, Theoboaldt Momina Gurirab, Dawid ‘Big Fellah’ Snewe, but there was one player whom many seemed to have forgotten or, rather, don’t really talk much about.

The strongly-built Joseph Garab was not to be outdone, and even though he had to be satisfied living in the shadows of his more celebrated teammates, the muscular forward was a real silent monster in front of goal, though he only rose to prominence when he relocated to the city of bright lights (Windhoek) to join forces with the mighty Orlando Pirates.

Garab was duly posted to Namibia’s commercial capital after he found new employment with the South West African Broadcasting Corporation (SWABC) as a novice radio news anchor for the Damara/Nama radio station, nowadays known as Kaisames Radio.

In today’s edition of your favourite weekly sport feature, Tales of the Legends that profiles our sport heroes and heroines – alive and posthumously, New Era Sport goes boot-to-boot with the versatile retired sharpshooter-cum-radio broadcaster, the one and only Joseph Garab, AKA the ‘Welwitschia Beast’.

Born in Outjo in the vastly-populated Kunene region in 1959, Garab grew up in Khorixas though he attended his primary school in Fransfontein. Growing up in the dusty streets of Khorixas, Garab was like many other boys his age, football crazy in the conspicuous absence of adequate recreational facilities in the dusty town.

A multi-gifted athlete, Garab also made his mark on the athletics track, excelling in both the 200 and 400-metre sprints. He also played football for Cornelius Goreseb High School’s first team as a lethal goal poacher, and it was during his time with the school team that he was spotted by scouts from local outfit Mini Shadow Football Club.

After a few near faultless displays for his new club, Garab caught the attention of Orlando Pirates’ talent scouts who kept monitoring his progress, until he was offered a new job at SWABC and the Ghosts pounced on the raw but dangerous lethal net-buster, and as they say, the rest is history. 

He arrived at the star-studded but wounded Pirates’ stable still reeling from disappointment following the daylight robbery that saw Pirates relinquish their prestigious Mainstay Cup to Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW), following a nauseating dodgy decision by the match officials.

Pirates were harshly disqualified for mysteriously arriving 45-minutes late for the scheduled kick-off of their final match against the German outfit. Many football pundits, including the neutral fan, felt – and rightly so – that the harsh punishment was politically motivated. 

The Doc Hardley-inspired Pirates defeated SKW 5-3 after extra time but were unfairly declared losers in the boardroom.   

Without hesitation, the fast-galloping Garab was drafted in Pirates’ starting line up straight away and hit the ground running. He started rattling the opposition’s net with breath-taking goals. 

He was your typical old-fashioned centre-forward, packed a decent shot in both feet, blessed with unbelievable strength, amazing pace, and could easily wangle his way past robust defenders with brutal force and lightning speed.

“I was actually one of the leading sprinters at high school, but I must confess the late Dios Engelbrecht contributed massively to the improvement of my speed with modern training programmes when I arrived in Windhoek,” recalls the well-spoken retired broadcaster during an exclusive interview with New Era Sport.      

Although his overall uncanny style of play did not exactly inspire many football followers, his amazing goal-scoring prowess was second to none, and it was no surprise that he, against all odds, managed to squeeze himself deep into the hearts of the usually hard-to-please Pirates followers. 

The hard-galloping raw forward from Khorixas became the toast of the Ghosts’ large army of supporters to the extent that any Pirates’ team sheet without his name scripted on it would be considered incomplete, so to speak. 

He formed a telepathic partnership with the evergreen Erich Muinjo, Ambrossius Vyff, Norries Goraseb, Killer Kamberipa and his homeboy – the pocket-sized Eben ‘She’ Ndjuella.

Unfortunately, his romance with the Ghosts ended prematurely when Garab was posted to the Otjiwarongo/Okakarara areas to man the newly-opened SWABC regional office in that neck of the woods.

Though he was stationed in Otjiwarongo, he joined forces with boyhood team Robber Chanties Football Club, and would feature for the navy and gold outfit sporadically. 

Sadly, a niggling knee injury halted his progress as a complete striker, obliging Garab to regrettably call it quits whilst still very much at the pinnacle of his promising football career. 

However, the brother was not completely lost to the game that saw him drive spectators to the edge of their seats, chewing their nails to pieces in anticipation of his canon-like deliveries that left many goalkeepers with permanently fractured fingers. 

He mentored Orwetoveni outfit Black Marroko Chiefs (BMC), ploughing back the experience gained during his short stint with Pirates.  

Off the field, the well-spoken fellow made some eye-catching strides as he was duly elevated to the plum position of manager of the popular Kaisames radio station for the #Khoekhoegowab vernacular. He succeeded veteran broadcaster Felix von Schach, and held the position with great aplomb until his compulsory retirement three years ago.     

Under his watch, Kaisames sponsored several charity events, including football and netball tournaments that raised funds for the impoverished disadvantaged communities in the rural areas. 

A kind-hearted true gentleman, Garab will go down in history as one of the most underrated footies of his generation, though he was sadly unable to realise his full potential. 

The now-retired broadcaster is nowadays a dedicated man of the cloth in the Lutheran church, and is happily hitched to his long-time childhood sweetheart, Meriam Garas, who bore him six beautiful children.