03 Jul 2024

The passing on of Matshediso ‘Sexton’ Kowa, on Saturday, an inductee of the Botswana Sport Hall of Fame, sent shock waves across football and sports fraternity in Botswana and the SADC region. 

Although it was known that he was not well in the recent past, his passing still landed like a cruel blow when it broke. 

One of the astute football administrators, Ashford Mamelodi, said he had known Kowa for the past 50 years. 

He said they met initially when Kowa was at Molefi Senior Secondary School and he was at Gaborone Secondary School. “When he moved to Gaborone Secondary School, we played together in the school team. When he went to play for Mochudi Centre Chiefs, I continued my football at Black Peril,” he said. 

Mamelodi said ‘Tshidi’ was unrivalled as a top class goalkeeper in Botswana whose love for football ran deep. 

“He was also a regular goal keeper for the Zebras, a team that he later coached. 

Mamelodi said after his playing days, ‘Tshidi’ devoted his time to coaching and later formed his own club, Uniao Flamengo Desportos. 

He said although he trained as a coach in Germany amongst other places, he related a lot with Argentinian football. 

“He loved the South American flair of football. It came as no surprise that the colours of Flamengo Desportos FC were similar to those of the Argentinian national team,” he said. 

Mamelodi said the club later merged with Gabane Santos and became known as Uniao Flamengo Santos FC that he co-owned with Mokganedi Molefe, another football leader of note, who was the founder of Gabane Santos FC. 

“The recent promotion of Uniao Flamengo Santos to the Botswana Premier League in the next season was in retrospect like a final farewell to its co-founder and the legendary ‘Godfather’. He was visibly proud of a club that he founded making its way back to the Premier League,” he said. 

By the time he passed on, ‘Bones’ as some of his friends referred to him, Mamelodi said Kowa had left his mark on the Botswana football where he produced many quality players and coaches, some of whom had donned the national colors. 

“He will be sadly missed not only by his wife and children together with the rest of the family, but by his many friends and colleagues in football. Ends