South African super fan Botha Msila arrives in Egypt for Afcon after emotional journey
Botha Msila, an emotional South African sports fan, has finally arrived in Egypt in time for the start of the opening 2019 Africa Cup of Nations match between the hosts and Zimbabwe in Cairo on Friday night.
Msila abandoned his epic journey of hiking from Cape Town to Cairo this week due to problems with visas at the Ethiopian border with Kenya, where he stayed for three days while plans were being made for him to fly to Egypt.
The super fan was assisted for the final leg of his journey by popular sports broadcaster Robert Marawa who arranged a flight out of Kenya to the North African country to support Bafana Bafana.
Botha’s attempt to hitch-hike from Cape Town to Cairo, along with Zimbabwean fan Alvin Zhakata, was seemingly at an end as he returned to Nairobi this week‚ but Marawa stepped in to provide the necessary assistance to complete the journey.
“We have just arrived in Egypt‚ I want to say again and again thanks to Robert Marawa‚ the producer of Marawa Sports Worldwide Beverly Maphangwa, and my government for making sure my travel becomes easy‚” Msila said in a social media post after arriving in Egypt.
“Thanks everybody‚ it's very hot here. I’m so happy to be here‚ thanks to everybody in South Africa for doing this for me. I have arrived safe‚ I am so happy‚ God bless all of you who have helped me.”
21/06 - 07:23
— Botha Blaweh Helayalo (@MsilaBotha) June 21, 2019
Hololoooo Egypt I am here✊🏾✊🏾hela yalo bo blaweee I don’t know how much more I can thank mzansi 💚💚South Africa ka le rata✊🏾✊🏾 hela yalo✊🏾 @BafanaBafana kena le lona ✊🏾💚 #BothaCape2Cairo pic.twitter.com/eMLP7ukaRL
Attempts to reach Marawa for comment were not successful at the time of writing.
Msila is one of a number of celebrity fans around the country and while he is a Bloemfontein Celtic supporter‚ he is regularly spotted at a number of domestic and international matches wearing his trademark showercap.
He arrived in Egypt just in time to watch Bafana Bafana’s opening game of the Nations Cup against Ivory Coast in Cairo on Monday.