WeeklySA_AdminJUNIOR RAMUSI:He kept goals in football, pitched in softball and administered sports in Limpopo
By Moyahabo Mabeba
The sudden passing of Sekgweng Isaiah Ramusi on Tuesday has sent shockwaves across the sports fraternity and political landscape. The son of the prominent legal eagle, the late Collins Molapateng Ramusi, the young man who would later be affectionately known as “Junior,” was destined for greatness.
He was a lover of finer things in life and the world presented him with plentiful opportunities and means to explore the universe. His close-knit community of Mangata in Botlokwa is mourning the untimely death of a son of the soil who, during his formative years, revolutionised sport, particularly football and softball.
Like renowned voyager David Livingstone, Junior also considered himself quite an explorer during his formative years as he knew no boundaries. Oozing youthful exuberance, he kept the goals for soccer outfit, Mangata Blue Wales, where he is still on the lips of many as one of the club’s greatest goalkeepers of all time. When the people of Botlokwa wanted to popularise softball among communities, “Lejava” was one of the active pioneers to of the game and went on to establish Botlokwa Giants Softball Club in the late 1980s.
A true leader with foresight and great aplomb, he led from the pitcher’s mound with sheer drive and intellect. Giants became the standard bearers during the glorious days of the Great North Softball Association, competing against softball aristocrats in the province – thanks, in large measure, to Junior’s leadership and dedication to the game.
It was his elegance and charisma that saw him rubbing shoulders with bigwigs in sport. When the defunct Seshego Ria Stars and Mahwereleng Real Rovers wanted to communicate with their support bases, Junior became the mouthpiece who spoke eloquently on behalf of the clubs. His all-round round knowledge of sport became the springboard from which his illustrious public service career was launched. It was by no coincidence that the Limpopo provincial Department of Sports, Arts and Culture roped him in and elevated him to its greater echelons. His mandate was to take sports to a wider Milieu, a mission he executed that job with great judgment and skill. The man from the upper-class Ramusi clan always embraced his people from Botlokwa with a sense of pride and cheerfulness. When he met his “homies” away from Botlokwa, his signature greetings was: “Eh weso, objane naa? Ape ese boetsha ke hona ke bona motho ka wena Motlokwa…
Botsheele?” Like his father, he was a member of the African National Congress in good standing. Honouring his father posthumously, one of the ANC branches in Botlokwa assumed his name, Collins Ramusi. A go-getter and public relations dynamo, Junior rubbed shoulders with political heavyweights and sports administrators with finesse. Bar the details of his death,
Junior leaves behind a formidable legacy, which will always be cherished.
