Maqonda Ndlovu
Veteran sports journalist Carlos ‘CK’ Kambaekua claims he has fallen victim to a publisher who he paid N$5 000 to print 20 proto-type copies of his soon-to-be-launched book titled ‘The Untold History of Namibian Football’.
The former New Era sport journalist said he signed an agreement to pay Kotokeni Shimbindja of Skies Investments (Kotokeni Printing) the above-mentioned sum for the printing of dummy 20 copies of the book, which Kambaekua wanted to assess for quality purposes and give to potential sponsors.
A month later, Shimbindja failed to deliver the copies despite having received the money.
“I initially wanted to print 10 copies of the book so I could present it to potential sponsors and show them what the product would look like. I wanted to use those copies to assess the quality of my work and his work. He convinced me to print 20 copies, saying it would be cheaper for me to print 20 copies compared to 10. The difference was N$1 600 (N$3 400 for 10 copies and N$5 000 for 20 copies),” Kambaekua said. He said Shimbindja pressured him to make the payment, which he (Kambaekua) sent electronically in early February with the promise that the books would be delivered within a week.
Shimbindja never delivered the books and has since come up with half-baked excuses, Kambaekua said.
“Every time I call him or text him, he makes all sorts of excuses. Nowadays, he doesn’t even pick up or respond to my texts. He lied to me and said he was waiting for the paper to come, then he changed his story and said he was waiting for the ink to dry. He changed his story and said there was a page missing. Later, he stopped responding to me. That’s when I realised, I was dupped,” Kambaekua said.
This raised red flags with Kambaekua, who started questioning the sincerity of Shimbindja, leading to a meeting where he (Shimbindja) committed to completing the job for Kambaekua on condition that he gets the tender to print the final product, which is 20 000 copies.
When contacted for comment, Shimbindja acknowledged that he indeed received the money.
“I have been facing a couple of challenges with that project. Carlos has been calling me, and I could not take his calls because I didn’t want to give half information. The books will be delivered by Friday this week (tomorrow) or early next week.
I will call him later today or early tomorrow (Tuesday or Wednesday) to explain the situation. I understand he is losing business, but at the moment I cannot do anything,” he said.
Kambaekua is a seasoned investigative sports journalist with over 40 years’ experience and a noted historian with vast knowledge and expertise in Namibian football.
He is also a former footballer, referee, and administrator, among other things.