Having started his long and winding football journey in the dusty streets of Khorixas with the town’s leading team, Robber Chanties, hardly out of his pair of shorts, young Arnold Rodney ‘Wallace’ Doeseb was destined for greatness. He made his debut for the navy and gold stripe outfit at a very young age and never looked back ever since.

However, the calculated football playing centre back only rose to prominence when he relocated to Copper Town, Tsumeb, to start his teaching career. Upon his arrival, Wallace joined forces with local giants, Chief Santos, under the mentorship of Max Johnson. 

Admittedly, succeeding the ageing but seemingly irreplaceable intelligent beanpole defender Immanuel ‘Puli’ Subeb was not going to be a walk in the park. Nonetheless, ‘Wallace’ surprised friend and foe when he stepped up to walk in the big shoes of the great Subeb unscathed. 

The super energetic defender fitted like a glove in hand, marshaling Santos’ tight defence with maturity way beyond his rookie tag. His nearly faultless performance in the middle of the team’s rearguard did not go unnoticed. 

The wide awake Johnson entrusted the new kid on the block with the sacred captain armband, taking over from the departed Captain Fantastic ‘Lucky’ Kakuva. The latter relocated to the city of bright lights (Windhoek) to take up a lucrative job offer with a leading financial institution.

Doeseb led the smooth sailing Santos side to victories in several high profile knockout cup tourneys, including the coveted national league title in the flagship league, certainly no mean feat for a youngster who arrived on the scene as an unknown entity. 

Doeseb also had short stints with Katutura giants Tigers and ambitious coastal outfit Eleven Arrows at different intervals. Upon retiring from playing competitive football, Doeseb was going nowhere and stood firm. Having taken up the plum portfolio of school principal in Karibib, in the mountainous Erongo region, the football crazy educationist knuckled down to some serious business. 

Determined to plough back the experience gained as a player, Doeseb established a youth football academy, the first of its kind in the town, taking aspiring footballers through the ropes of modern football dynamics. 

In the interim, the former Chief Santos, an inspirational skipper, earned FIFA-accredited coaching badges. He rose through the ranks to become a fully recognised CAF-A licence holder. Word has it that the much travelled defender was in high spirits after watching his team from the dugout on the day of his shock departure from mother planet. A true legend of the game gone to be reunited with the ancestors, at the most inappropriate time… but God’s will can never be debated…rest easy brother man, your genuine kindness, gentle code of conduct and that smile from your baby face through your trademark gab tooth will remain with us forever.  

RIP – Sledge ‘Slaka’ Saptow 

1953 – 2026  

A proud product of the unofficial school of excellence (football wise), St Joseph’s Secondary School (Dobra), Otjiwarongo, born Sledge ‘Slaka’ Saptow, was a reliable shot stopper who played club football for the now-defunct Orwetoweni outfit Orlando Tigers in his native town, Otjiwarongo, in the early 70s. 

One of the pair of football-playing Saptow siblings alongside elder brother Patrick and other notable footies such as the late ‘Stouter’ Ochurub, Seth Boois, and a few others. A fearless goalkeeper, ‘Slaka’ was a brilliant shot stopper and will go down in history as one of the greatest net-guards to have ever emerged from the northern capital.

Other greats from that neck of the woods who come to mind are ‘Lewa’ Awaseb, Alfons Njembo, Toufi Mbako, Emile Katjimune, John Sabatha, and Vonk Tjihenuna, in that order. Bro ‘Slaka’ died in a Windhoek hospital after a marathon battle with ill health. May his footballing soul rest in ancestral power.

RIP – Graham ‘Gummy’ April 

1995 – 2026 

For the umpteenth time in recent years, a catastrophic road accident has claimed the life of a prominent rugby player. Retired University of Namibia (Unam) Rugby Fifteen title-winning captain Graham April perished in a horrific motor vehicle accident on the 30-kilometre stretch between Karibib and Usakos. 

A fantastic oval ball chaser, apart from playing club rugby for the ‘Clever Boys, ‘Gummy has represented his motherland internationally with distinction at the youth level. A damn uncompromising competitor, the strongly built forward from Kronlein was a valuable squad member of the unplayable multiple title winning Unam team under the guidance of astute mentor Johan Diergaardt. 

‘Gummy’ will be sorely missed by those he rubbed shoulders with on the rugby fields across the length and breadth of the country, as well as beyond Namibian borders, lest we forget, in social circles. Go well, ‘Ma se Kind’, until we meet again in Heaven.