Meet John Kebinatshipi
Source : Kutlwano
Author : Marvin Motlhabane
Location : Kanye
Event : Interview
At 61, John Kebinatshipi of Lotlhakane East is a retired athlete, footballer and lifelong farmer whose early passion for sport and faith built a resilient family rooted in agriculture and achievement.
From humble rural beginnings, he has raised Botswana and Africa’s first-ever 400m male World Champion and 4x400m gold medalist at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan–his youngest son, Collen.Kebinatshipi credits Lotlhakane Primary School, where he enrolled in 1975 and completed Standard 7 with distinction, for instilling discipline in him.
He progressed to Seepapitso Secondary School in the early 1980s and then earned an advanced certificate in Animal Health and Production from the then Botswana College of Agriculture (BCA).
After graduation, he started his career in Tsabong, a period of joy and sorrow.
There, he saw the birth of Collen, now the reigning 400m World Champion and the early death of his first wife, the mother to a young man who would later shock the athletics world.
Guided by faith, Kebinatshipi found strength in the belief that all was part of a divine plan.
When his mother passed, Collen was just 18 months old. Kebinatshipi raised him alongside siblings, Innocent Morutwa, Queen Morutwa and Godwill Kebinatshipi with unwavering resolve.
Five years later, he married Khumoetsile Kebinatshipi, who brought warmth and stability.
She joined with three children of her own, Ingrid Khunou, Thapelo Modisane and Emmah Modisane, forming a blended household bound by transparency and mutual respect.
Sport and farming defined the children’s upbringing. Kebinatshipi trained alongside them, tending livestock and crops while passing on the grit he once showed on the track.
“They mirrored my moves,” he says. Athletics offered little financial reward in his era, but he beams with pride that Collen now earns a sustainable living from the sport.
“Raising a champion needs active parental participation,” he says. He stayed involved with Collen’s coaches from the start.
He says Collen’s talent emerged at Mookane Junior Secondary School under the late coach known as Rakwena, a farmer-client who first spotted the spark.
Rakwena’s supporters kept Kebinatshipi updated on camps and performances, often during farm visits, where athletics talk eclipsed business. Kebinatshipi gladly provided gear and support.
When Collen moved to Seepapitso Secondary, coach Chilume ‘Chippa’ Ntshwarang registered him at Jwaneng Athletics Club. Their bond remains strong.
Kebinatshipi says his family is made up of runners and farmers. His eldest daughter Queen Morutwa, credits their father for raising them to fear God and live faithfully.
She says Collen has emulated his career in sport. Queen recalls how the family bonded over the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, all wearing Township Rollers T-shirts bought by their father.
Queen notes that sport runs deep in the family, where eldest brother Innocent excelled in 100m, 200m and 400m sprints at Macha Senior in Kgalagadi. She competed in 400m and 800m at school. Back then, athletics was for fun, not income. Now she channels passion into farming, another gift from her father.
Kebinatshipi’s own sporting journey began at development level as a football pioneer, where he impressed seniors enough to debut for Kanye Swallows, playing until 1986.
That March, he joined BMC Football Club in the first division before the Botswana Premier League existed.
He said at the time Township Rollers showed interest, but he declined, citing fierce competition.
In 1987, deployment to Tsabong led him to Desert Wanderers where he spotted raw talent in the village, he and colleagues, including the legendary Best Mokaila, registered football as a league.
Teams included Black Rangers, Kalahari United, Camels United and Desert Wanderers.
Facing multiple “Wanderers” at the Registrar of Societies, Kebinatshipi coined “Desert Nxau”–Nxau meaning “united” in Sekgothu, the area’s prominent language. He played until 1992 and then shifted to coaching.
His children tagged along to games, sparking their love for sport.
For 37 years, Kebinatshipi served in veterinary services, ending as principal meat inspector at Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) before resigning.
Retirement returned him full-time to the farm, where he raises livestock and grows horticultural crops.
His parenting centres on leading by example. Every decision, from farm proceeds to daily chores involves the children, building responsibility early. Transparency about earnings, he believes, motivates the young. Rooted in pastoral teachings, he emphasised faith and discipline, often reciting Bible verses to impart life’s lessons.
“Be exemplary. Engrave virtue on their minds through action, not just words,” he urges parents.
For the Kebinatshipi family, that seed of purpose continues to bear fruit as they have amongst them, a World Champion. ENDS
