By WILLIE CHIWANGO
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

THE FOUR Tanzanian boxers who will be going to the African championships, to be held in Egypt from March 15-23, are super-heavyweight Mashaka Malulu, light-welterweight Hassan Matumla, light-middleweight Mzonge Hassan and middleweight Bakari Jumanne. 

The four were among 12 boxers from four nations who won gold medals at the African Zone Five championships which ended in Dar-es-Salaam last Wednesday, with Uganda emerging champions.

Zone Five President, David Agong of Uganda told The EastAfrican last week that all gold medallists would travel to Cairo where the last batch of 22 African boxers would be picked for next September's Sydney Olympic Games. 

The continent is required to enter 66 boxers in the Olympics, of whom 44 qualified at the All-Africa Games held in South Africa last year. 

While Kenya's middleweight Peter Kariuki and light-welterweight Frederick Munga have already won tickets to Sydney, Tanzania is yet to get even a single boxer through to the Olympics. 

The Tanzania Amateur Boxing Association Secretary General, Narcis Tarimo, said it had earmarked six boxers for the African championships but would now settle for only four following last week's poor performance and the unavailability of funds.

Apart from the four gold medals, Tanzania also won six silver medals to finish runners-up to Uganda who dominated the five-day tournament with six gold and two silver medals.

Ethiopia came third after collecting a gold and three silver medals while Kenya, who were placed third in last year's championships in Cairo, were pushed to the bottom of the table with a gold and silver.

In the absence of last year's champions Egypt, Uganda won the crown through the uncompromising light-flyweight Sande Mohammed, flyweight Jackson Asiku, bantamweight Abdul Tebazalwa, featherweight Kassim Adam, welterweight Hassan Saku and heavyweight Nicholas Buule who easily won their bouts.

The two silvers for the Ugandans, who will host next year's championships in Kampala, were won by light-welterweight Mohammed Kayongo and light-middleweight Nicholas Malaba.

Ethiopia's Adisu Tababu (lightweight) won his country the lone gold by overwhelming Tanzanian Twalib Idd while the three silvers came through light-flyweight Derege Dessu, flyweight Makonen Getachew and bantamweight Sisai Abebe. 

Kenya's gold came through light-heavyweight George Odindo, who recorded the only knock-out of the finals, while super-heavyweight Frederick "Tabu" Orieyo, settled for a silver.

Ugandan Sande heavily pounded Dessu forcing the referee to stop the contest mid-way in the fourth round to save the Ethiopian.

Asiku won a walkover when Getachew, who had broken an arm in the semis, failed to show up, while Tebazalwa and Adam stretched the Ugandans winning spree by outpointing Abebe and Tanzanian Karim Matumla, respectively.