▪️Namibia names lethal boxing team for Zone 4 battle along the banks of Zambezi River
June 10, 2026
Namibia’s scenic northeastern town of Katima Mulilo, nestled along the banks of the Zambezi River, will be the epicenter for regional boxing excellence.
After all the ifs and buts, the stage is now set for an epic battle of skills, ringcraftsmanship, power and stamina in the IBA Africa Zone 4 Boxing Championships scheduled for June 15-21 in Katima Mulilo.
Namibia is not taking chances hosting this event for the first time as they have assembled a lethal team of 21 boxers – 13 men and eight women – with experience and emerging talent eager to win Zone 4 Championships for the first time. Get ready for action-packed bouts spiced with fun and excitement.
Head coach Israel Hamutumbangela is confident his team will deliver egged on by home supporters.
“I have faith in my boxers they’re all determined to shine and make Namibia proud,” Hatumbangela told boxersworld.co.ke.
He has eight internationals while the rest excelled in the national championships proving that they can rise to the occasion if given a chance.
In addition to Tryagain Ndevelo and Gebhard Ipinge, other regulars in the team are featherweight Limene Elfas, cruiserweight Peter Kotze, heavyweight Israel Hamunyela while on the women’s side there is Region Five light-flyweight silver medallist Misha Areas, minimumweight Meriam Nghilongwa and lightweight Erika Bawases.
Hamutumbangela is not in boxing accidentally having played the game in school between 1989 to 1997. He is also a former footballer, kickboxer and karateka.
“I’ve handled the national team as head coach from 2018, I was at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and coached Jonas Junias Jonas to a gold medal in the light-welterweight,” said Hamutumbangela who owns Intelligence Boxing Academy in Namibia’s Ohangwena Region.
For Namibia’s 21-member squad, these championships represent months of rigorous training, determination, and the pride of fighting on home soil.
At the forefront of the national team’s charge are two of the country’s most celebrated amateur talents,
captain Tryagain Ndevelo and Gebhard Ipinge to headline the fierce exchange along the banks of Zambezi River.
The southpaw Ndevelo finally found his groove at the 2024 Africa Elite Men’s and Women’s Championships in Kinshasa, DR Congo, beating Zambia’s Mwengo Mwale in the final to capture featherweight gold.
Known for his tactical brilliance and patience in the ring, Ndevelo’s leadership both inside and outside the ropes is expected to set a high standard for the entire Namibian camp.
“It will be very important that most boxers get a chance to compete at an international level ahead of the Commonwealth Games,” Ndevelo told boxers world.co.ke in an interview.
Ndevelo went on: “That hunger is a clear indication already that Namibia will conquer those nations and dominate the tournament, we used to see how others hosting countries do it so we will make a big statement in Katima for sure.”
Ndevelo has moved up to lightweight as the featherweight berth will not be contested for in the Commonwralth and Olympic Games.
I ask whether he will be comfortable fighting again in his former weight class.
“I’m comfortable, yes, and also for Commonwealth and Olympics,” he says, adding: “I used to be there already, like my first Commonwealth in 2018 I fought as a lightweight. I moved down when the Olympics weight were changed. Now I’m going back to lightweight again.”
On who will be his rivals in Katima, Ndevelo said: “So far in Africa, the lightweight I can say maybe to be able to trouble me is Zambian and South African boxers. But no worries, there are levels they can’t handle from me.
Maybe Zambians, Mozambique, can bring competition to us too.”
Based in Swakopmund where he trains at Albertus Tsamaseb Boxing Academy, Ndevelo is relishing a fight with the Zambians.
What if he encounters Zambia’s 2022 Africa lightweight champion Andrew Chilata?
“Chilata I’ve seen his his fights severally he doesn’t worry me, I will take him to school in a highly technical game, I have a plan for him, it’s either left side or right side possibly both side and he won’t see it coming.”
He recalls the only Zambian to have defeated him is Everisto Mulenga at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco. Ndevelo has twice defeated Mwengo Mwale, the 2025 World Championships quarter-finalist.
“I like beating the Zambians, I once lost to a Zambian boxer Everisto at African Games in Morocco 2019, but he doesn’t box anymore, since that day they have a prize to pay to me whenever I match with them.
“Everisto is not boxing anymore, now he is making others pay his debt. Actually, Zambia and Namibia in Southern Africa are the countries at one level I would say so far.”
Fresh off his stellar performances and securing silver in the light-heavyweight division at the 2024 African Elite Championships in Kinshasa and gold in the 2025 Angola Independence celebrations tournament, the highly touted Ipinge brings international pedigree and heavy-hitting prowess to the team.
Together, the duo will share elite experience and winning mentality to the rest of the squad.
The regional event is not just a showcase of raw power and endurance; it serves as a critical stepping stone for these boxers’ Olympic and global aspirations. With local fans expected to pack the venue, the atmosphere in Katima Mulilo will be electrifying.
The mission for the 21 Namibian boxers is clear: defend home turf, display the immense growth of the sport in the country, and secure continental dominance.
Here’s Namibia’s 21 boxers for Zone 4 Championships:
WOMEN
Light-flyweight: Misha Araes
Flyweight: Hertha Namutiwa
Bantamweight: Hatani Bronn
Lightweight: Erika Nawases
Minimumweight: Meriam Nghilongwa
Welterweight: Emily Haungeya
Middleweight: Magdalena Buuyoma
Heavyweight: Salmi Shipesta
MEN
Minimumweight: Immanuel Ashikoto
Flyweight: Jermia Shoonyeka
Bantamweight: Phillip Hauseb
Featherweight: Elifas Imene
Lightweight: Try Again Ndevelo
Light-welterweight: Indongo Shilongo
Welterweight: Dinosaur Sakaria
Light-middleweight: Johannes Findika
Middleweight: Thomas Mdiwetepo
Light-heavyweight: Gebhard Ipinge
Cruiserweight: Peter Kotze
Heavyweight: Israel Hamutenya
Super-heavyweight: Joseph Isak Karasa
