The Sunday Mail
Sports Editor
AFTER months of anxiously waiting, the Zimbabwe National Karate Federation (ZNKF) have finally been provisionally registered by the World Karate Federation (WKF).
WKF is the largest international governing body of sport karate and is the only karate organisation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Previously, there was confusion over who between ZNKF and the Zimbabwe Karate Union (ZKU) was the legitimate affiliate of the WKF.
As if to worsen the plight of local karatekas, the WKF then suspended the union after it failed to comply with the federation’s statutes.
But after assessing the ZNKF’s application, the world karate body gave the thumbs-up to Zimbabwe’s bid to be registered.
The local federation has already applied to register with the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) and the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC).
However, the position of the world body was bound to set the tone for the local federation that is currently led by former ZKU president, Joe Rugwete.
“It is my pleasure to inform you that the WKF executive committee has granted the provisional affiliation as WKF National Federation for Zimbabwe to the Zimbabwe National Karate Federation as of 7th April 2021 with immediate effect.
“Kindly note that the above decision may be presented for ratification of the WKF Congress at its next meeting, according to the WKF statutes.
“In the meantime, you will be bound to the rights and obligations of any WKF member, as per the WKF statutes,’’ said WKF president Antonio Espinós in a letter addressed to Rugwete, which was also copied to ZOC president Thabani Gonye, Stephen Mudawarima (ZOC chief executive officer), SRC chairperson Gerald Mlotshwa and acting SRC director-general Sebastian Garikai.
The recognition, which appeared to have been lost when the ZKU was suspended, was a culmination of intense lobbying for local karatekas.
A naturally elated Rugwete told The Sunday Mail Sport that the latest development paves way for the implementation of various programmes such as the Japanese Ambassador’s tournament, inter-provincials and the referees, judges and coaches’ courses.
“Our recent attainment of WKF membership will allow us to participate in the regional, continental and international events. As it were, we were only able to focus on the local events,’’ he said.
“We were always confident that we would be successful in our endeavours because we consulted the WKF before we resigned from the ZKU to form the ZNKF.
“What we did not expect, however, was the hostile and at most times uncooperative attitude we got from the Zimbabwe Karate Union, who refused to voluntarily withdraw their membership from WKF after having been so advised by the WKF. And we still cannot understand why they elected to be expelled, a decision that unnecessarily prolonged our affiliation and cost us the opportunity to participate in the final Olympic qualifiers in Paris in April.”
Corporate partners, he added, had ensured their plans remain on track.
“We have managed to secure an important partnership with OK Zimbabwe Limited and AfricaBet, who have already played a huge role in ensuring that we have paid our affiliation fees to the World Karate Federation and to the regional body.
“We now focus on getting our sport back to where it is supposed to be.
“We are aware of the huge task ahead, coming from a lockdown which saw inactivity for more than a year, but as usual, we will do our best to ensure that our athletes are afforded opportunities to showcase their talent locally, regionally, continentally and internationally.”
Rugwete is a versatile administrator who has been part of the leadership of Team Zimbabwe at the African Games.
Initially, ZKU was registered as a competitive sport in December 2004 by the SRC.
It had two different constituencies: members who practice under the auspices of the WKF, and were eligible for the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Games (Union des Federations Africaines de Karaté Region South), African Games, the WKF World Championships, and the Olympics.
It also had members who practice Full Contact under various organisations that are not recognised by the WKF.
But they were not eligible to participate in most regional and international competitions.
Matters came to a head in 2014 after an amendment to the union’s statutes at an annual general meeting that was held in Kwekwe.
The changes meant the union would be administered by a two-tier administrative structure that would be comprised of a common president, vice president, secretary-general and treasurer, but with two technical directors and two marketing executives — one each for World Karate Federation affiliates and for Full Contact.
In 2018, the WKF amended their constitution, particularly Section 5.12, and prohibited national federations from being affiliated with any karate organisation they did not recognise.
They were also prohibited from having any sporting relationships with non-recognised or suspended organisations.
The world body subsequently wrote to ZKU former president Paul Danisa on March 16, 2020, advising him that the local union’s constitution was out of sync with the international body’s regulations.
“On April 13, 2020, the ZKU executive committee scrutinised the 2018 WKF statutes and found that they were not compliant with several articles due to the association of Full Contact with WKF members.
“A legal opinion was sought, and the opinion advised the ZKU that they risked getting expelled from the WKF due to the numerous instances of non-compliance . . . Consultations were made among Zimbabwe Karate Union members, and Full Contact members unequivocally indicated that they were not affected by the decisions of the WKF and so they refused to entertain the idea of amending their constitution,’’ Rugwete said.
