SEVEN of the eight regional executives of Athletics Namibia (AN) last week wrote to International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF)’s President Lamine Diack indicating why they have lost trust in the leadership of Alpha Kangueehi in a letter copied to Informanté Sports.

The letter reads as follows;
1. Disregard of the Federation’s constitution.
1.1 The constitution stipulates that an ordinary congress is to be held at least once a year during October or November. From 2004 until 2008 there were no ordinary congresses held.
1.2 Audited financial statements are to be tabled yearly at the ordinary congress for the past financial year. At the 2008 ordinary congress, only financial statements for the financial year ended 31 March 2006 were tabled. Members were also not given time to scrutinise the statements and they were regarded as being accepted. Financial Statements for the financial years ending 31 March 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008 have not yet been presented. It is observed from the 2006 financial statements that during each of the financial years 2005 and 2006, an amount of N$8,000 was paid to the Sunshine Athletics Club, the Club to which Kangueehi is attached. No other member or club ever received any funding whatsoever from AN.
1.3 At the ordinary congress held in November 2008, Kangueehi insisted that voting should take place by raising hands, although the constitution clearly specifies that voting will be done by secret ballot. He was eventually overruled by members.
2. General disregard of the needs of the athletes by the leadership of Athletics Namibia and particularly its past president.
2.1 At the past two IAAF World Championships, Agnes Samaria was not accompanied by a team manager. She did all administrative tasks to be attended to by a team manager at these Championships, herself. Mr Kangueehi attended both World Championships but he regarded it beyond his status to look after the needs of his athlete. He evaded any contact with her.
2.2 An athlete was sent to World Junior Championships without arranging the necessary visa. Consequently the athlete was sent back to Namibia from Frankfurt airport as he was disallowed to board the connecting flight.
2.3 Luketz Swartbooi tested positive for a minor doping infringement during a race in South Africa, which under WADA rules only required a warning. Kangueehi arbitrarily announced over the written and electronic media that the athlete was summarily suspended for a period of two years without even informing the athlete of neither his transgression nor giving him a hearing as required under WADA and IAAF rules.
3. Lack of National Championships.
During the past two years no National Track & Field Championships were held in Namibia. Cross Country competitions became non-existent during the tenure of the past leadership.
“It is apparent that (Kangueehi) with total disregard of the majority of Athletic Namibia’s members endeavors to hijack the Federation for his own personal gains. He also went so far as to fabricate false minutes in respect of the 2008 ordinary congress, which he was not prepared to distribute amongst the members and which apparently were only sent to IAAF. This in our opinion is fraud…or alternatively we shall consider dissolving Athletics Namibia, which under the present constitution would easily be achievable,” the executive wrote to IAAF.