Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
ELIJAH Nkala was an unstoppable runner, dominating the local scene in the 400m race and Zone Six (Southern Africa), whose championship he held from 1985 until his retirement in 1992.
Nkala also fulfilled every sportsperson’s dream of competing in the world’s biggest sporting showpiece, the Olympics Games, as part of Team Zimbabwe in the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea.
After retirement, Nkala pursued a political career and is now the Ward 5 councillor in the Umzingwane Rural District Council in Matabeleland South.
“I might not have come back with a medal for my country, but I believe I did well. One thing I also remember vividly was the attendance figures at the stadium. I had never seen such a packed venue and momentarily had some form of a stage fright, but it was all gone when my name was announced and I stepped forward, raised my hands as I greeted the crowd and felt great at that moment. I felt like a hero. It’s a feeling that you want now and again,” said Nkala.
Nkala said it was not difficult adjusting to a political life.
“I started as chairperson of Mawabeni Primary School development Committe, a post I was to hold for close to five years after being approached by elders in the village because they trusted me. During that time, I would interact a lot with people from different backgrounds, who had school related challenges and at the same time I was also looking at how those who were in council then were doing their job. I started learning a few things and also seeing where they were coming short,” Nkala told Chronicle Sport.
“I realised that people used to walk long distances seeking help from a councillor, and can you imagine old people and even the disabled walking long distances to seek help from someone they would have voted for? I then utilised that gap and set up what I call mobile offices, which meant less travel to seek help.”
He said elected representatives means working for everyone despite political affiliation.
“You don’t represent your party members, but your entire constituency. This has always been my motto since being first elected in 2013,” said Nkala.
Nkala said it hurts him most is that the country only managed to secure one athletics slot for this year’s Olympic Games.
“We need better training facilities to start with and secondly if opportunities open up for scholarships overseas where there are world class facilities, let us send talented and deserving athletes, not our relatives or friends. Once deserving boys and girls get exposed to proper facilities, we will achieve more. Age cheating is another cancer in our sports. During my time, if you were Under-18, you were Under-18 and competed against your age mates, but these days someone gets gold competing against Under-18s when he is 21 and not really talented.
Now the effect of that is that a talented youngster gets deprived of an opportunity to excel because kungene ixhegu,” said Nkala.
He said some athletes quickly give up in frustration and that talent goes to waste.
“Our parliamentarians must come up with specific legislation that will criminalise such vices. We can’t continue to be punching bags in athletics when we have so many talented youngsters whose God-given talent is being suffocated by a few corrupt and greedy individuals,” Nkala said.
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