Leemisa Thuseho

FORMER boxing referee judge and former Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) boxer — Thabang Makhakhe has died.

Makhakhe died last Sunday aged 51 after a short illness.

He will be buried today at Ha-Mabote in Berea.

Makhakhe, who was also a business man, died aged 51.

Lesotho Boxing Association (LeBA) secretary general Lehlohonolo Snyman said Makhakhe’s death was a huge loss to the federation and the sporting fraternity at large.

He said even though Makhakhe has never been into the administrative running of the federation, he was always there to advise the association’s leadership.

“Makhakhe served the sport as a boxer and after his retirement from competitive boxing, he became a referee judge until he left to focus on his businesses,” Snyman said.

“He is leaving us having now returned to the sport as one of the people who were helping our national teams in various voluntarily in various ways.

“He would always ensure that our teams are well taken care of whenever they went out for competitions or during their camps.”

According to Snyman, Makhakhe had the potential to become a major sponsor for the sport in the near future.

“This is a huge loss because he died when he was starting to show interest in sponsoring our sport. He was indeed a potential sponsor.

“On the other hand, we lost someone who grew within the sport and had the potential to help us grow the sport…,” Snyman said.