Soweto has produced several top boxers over the years and has contributed to the new sheriff overhauling the professional fistic game that descended into the Wild West years ago.
Ayanda Khumalo, chair of the Boxing South Africa (BSA) board, wears a frequent smile and carries the demeanour of a Miss Popularity contestant. But the human rights lawyer, a partner at firm Webber Wentzel in Johannesburg, is prepared to turn gunslinger should licensees or even BSA employees step out of line.
Khumalo is big on good governance, a concept that evaporated from BSA probably 20 or so years ago.
The sport’s in a mess. The regulator, a statutory body, has failed to perform its basic duties of control, resulting in promoters and other licensees getting away with murder. “It’s a mammoth task,” admits Khumalo, who spent four years as a co-opted board member at the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) board, which was in trouble when she started.
“There were quite a lot of governance issues, and there were various investigative reports that had come out highlighting similar issues … In the four years, we were able to turn things around for Sascoc, to a point where now Sascoc is sitting in a very healthy position and donors have also come to the party.”
Pit of boxing
But Sascoc at its worst was still storeys taller than the cess pit of boxing.
“I often wake up and ask myself: whatever was I thinking? But, you know, governance has always been close to my heart. When I started practising [law] … I had a focus area where I gave assistance to non-profit organisations when it comes to governance,” said Khumalo, who spent a gap year after matric doing community and outreach work.
I’ve always wanted to represent the vulnerable; people who can’t speak for themselves. That’s why women in boxing, those issues are close to my heart.
— Ayanda Khumalo, chair of the Boxing SA
She inherited her compassion from her parents.
Her mom was a nurse who died unexpectedly when Khumalo was six. “She used to do a lot of nightshift, so when we woke up to go to school she’d be coming back from work and so we would hardly see her because by the time we came back she was preparing to go back to work. I remember one day she fetched me from pre-school and I was so happy because I hardly saw my mother.”
After her death, Khumalo’s father moved them to a farm alongside the R28 in the Vaal. “The farm was very fertile, but my dad said to us: ‘No, I’ve got a different calling and that calling is to be a priest’. And so he started the church on the farm and he’s got quite a big structure where people congregate on a weekly basis for fellowship.”
Her family — which includes four sisters and three brothers — contributed to her love for sport. “My whole family supports Mamelodi Sundowns. On days where Sundowns play, our whole family would be glued to the television screen. They also watched boxing — Dingaan Thobela, Baby Jake Matlala....” recalled Khumalo, a keen netball player until leaving high school in Lenasia.
These days she does aerobics to keep fit, although her 10-year-old daughter is broadening her sporting horizons. “My interest in sport just grew more because my daughter is highly talented, if I may say so myself. She’s an artistic gymnast — she’s a second-time national gold medal holder in her category — [and] she has recently just broken a record in high jump for under-10.
“She does well in the 80m sprints as well and in netball. I have to juggle to get her to gymnastics or to high jump or to netball.”
Khumalo, a self-proclaimed fan of the Marvel super-hero movie franchise who enjoys reading and watching Netflix series in her spare time, considered going into psychology, medicine or law. “But because I was horrible in maths and science, [medicine] quickly fell off the list, so then I was left with psychology and law.
Represent the vulnerable
“I’ve always had a soft spot for vulnerable people … I’ve always wanted to represent the vulnerable, people who can’t speak for themselves. That’s why women in boxing, those issues are close to my heart. [Where] we find people that do not have a voice to speak for themselves, that sparks me.”
Khumalo identified four areas where directors often failed in terms of governance.
One was overstepping the boundary between board and operations, an issue in boxing where past boards overruled its own sanctioning committee and staff members and, for example, allowed unsanctioned tournaments.
Others were not appreciating the caretaker role, not knowing how to deal with possible conflict of interest and not keeping details of board meetings confidential. But there were other issues that needed to be dealt with by the BSA board. “Making sure that we have competent people that are running the entity from a management point of view.
“And if you realise that the people are not competent enough to do the work that is supposed to be done, you have to be bold enough as a board to take the decision to let them go, obviously following proper processes.”
And she plans on taking action against anyone fingered by a recently announced financial probe.
“Once the forensic investigation is done that we are embarking on now, we will have to take a hard stance against anybody that is identified as having committed wrongdoing in that report ... people will have to face the arm of the law.”
Not even past BSA board members would be safe, she warned.
“We have to consider declaring them delinquent so that they can’t serve on other boards again because of what they’ve done in this entity.”
Given where the sport is at the moment, Khumalo could be one of Soweto’s most vital boxing products.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.