LeBA mourns Ntjona’s death

NTHAKO MAJORO

MASERU – Lesotho Boxing Association (LeBA) is grieving the death of former boxer, Thandi Ntjona, who died at the weekend at Queen ’Mamohato Memorial Hospital in Maseru. According to LeBA’s Public Relations Officer (PRO,) Rethabile ‘Shana’ Mohale, Ntjona was beaten and stabbed in Tšenola, Maseru, last Saturday. Mohale said Ntjona, who resided at Ha Tšiu, Maseru, received a phone call from a friend in Tšenola asking him to come over; upon arrival he was beaten and stabbed by five men, including the one who called him to the place. “He was called by one of his friends in Tšenola late on Saturday where upon arrival a fight ensued between him and the five men who stabled him to death,” Mohale said in an interview with Public Eye yesterday. “The one who called him was among those five who stabbed him.”

Mohale said it was not yet known why the boxer was killed. “Police are still making investigations on why Ntjona was stabbed to death,” he said LeBA PRO said according to the people who saw the incidence, Ntjona died on the spot. “We were told by those who saw the incidence that he died on the spot. Tšepong (Queen ’Mamohato Memorial Hospital) doctors confirmed his death at 8:00 pm the same day,” Mohale said. Ntjona, the former MGB and Best Boxers Club (BBC) boxer represented Lesotho at international level during his time as a boxer.

Mohale said among other international competitions, Ntjona participated at the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games. “His death has really affected local boxing fraternity as a whole because apart from the fact that he represented the country at international level he was lately making a comeback to the sport, this time around as one of the coaches for Lithabaneng Boxing Club,” Mohale said. Ntjona, Mohale said was also grooming young boxers in his village and was about to register his own club with LeBA.

“He was lately involved in boxing as a coach. He used to help Lithabaneng Boxing Club and was also on the process of registering his club he had just established in his village in Ha Tšiu.” Mohale further said: “He was very much loved by young-and-upcoming boxers, who you could see that he had a special way of interacting with them.” Ntjona, born in 1983, is the fourth child in a family of six children; four boys and two girls. Both his parents and his elder brother are late. He left behind his wife and two children, both boys.