14 Jan 2021

Former Secretary General of First Division North and retired army officer, Rapula Gaothobogwe has passed away at his cattle post at Kakamane near Serowe on Tuesday. 

His niece, Kemiso Gaothobogwe confirmed his passing in an interview on Wednesday. 

His demise has indeed come as a blow to the football fraternity and former Botswana Football Association (BFA) president, also Notwane president, Tebogo Sebego said the late Gaotlhobogwe, commonly known as Raps or Senior Secretary General served football with distinction in various capacities.  

Notably, the late Gaotlhobogwe will be remembered for doing a sterling job while serving as the secretary general of the Debswana First Division North as well as a publicity secretary for Tafic.

According to Sebego, Raps was a driver of football madness and leadership philosophy that was founded on truthfulness, transparency and unapologetic development of the game.

“We found each other’s soul, together with other like-minded footballers. We bonded, solidified and crystalised our belief,” he said.

Sebego said Raps was his supporter and critic who spoke the truth and was never afraid of sharing his ideas during his tenure as BFA president.

“Raps fought the battles against abuse of leadership, stood for the truth and could not sell football for any value, he said, adding ‘sadly he was denied the opportunity to clear his name by those who manipulated football justice system and passed away while on suspension’.

First Division North chairperson, Jonas Ikgopoleng said he worked with the late Gaotlhobogwe when he was at Tasc as a public relations officer from 2009 to 2012, while  Raps was with Tafic.

Ikgopoleng said the late Gaothobogwe did not fear any challenge and was always straight to the point and articulated football matters well.

Besides being an orator of note, Ikgopoleng mentioned that the deceased was a poet and was good at canvasing supporters for the team.

Suspended First Division North chairperson, Mpezeni Sambandawe said the death of Raps was indeed a blow to the local game. 

He described Raps as a disciplined individuals who was never easily swayed by others especially when he was convinced his position was the right one.

He said at the time when the late Gaothobogwe was elected as an additional member of First Division North in 2010, many dismissed him as an underperformer; something he said irked Raps to go solo and prove his critics wrong during the 2012 elective congress. 

“He made his opponents eat humble pie by thrashing them with a huge margin,” he said. 

Raps would go on to win the next two congresses in 2014 and 2016 with no qualm and formed part of the negotiation team that negotiated with the executive of Debswana to solicit sponsorship in 2016.

Following successful negotiations with Debswana, the late Gaothobogwe and company engaged in a vigorous programme to market football and search for better playing grounds, an initiative that took them as far as Palapye and Pilikwe. Ends