Zimbabwe were the overall winners of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Corrections/Prisons/Penitentiary Services Sport and Cultural Games, which were concluded in Windhoek on Friday.
Namibia won more medals overall, but Zimbabwe pipped them to the top spot after winning one more gold medal. They won 10 gold, five silver, and four bronze medals for a total of 19 medals, while Namibia came second with nine gold, 13 silver, and 11 bronze medals for a total of 33 medals.
Zambia came third after winning seven gold, five silver, and one bronze medal for a total of 13 medals.
On Friday, Namibia claimed gold in the football tournament after beating Zambia 3-1 in a dramatic match. Zambia took an early lead when they caught Namibia's defence napping after barely a minute, but Namibia came back with a vengeance as they laid siege to Zambia's goal.
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Josua van Staden had a cracking shot tipped away by Zambian keeper Shita Nakweti, who also punched a dangerous cross by Warren Pofadder clear. Gibson Umati finally hit the back of the net with a great free kick, but it was disallowed for an infringement.
The drama continued after the break with Jeremia Ndengu scoring from a long cross, only to have the goal disallowed for offside, but the momentum swung Namibia's way when Zambian defender Charles Chomba was sent off for a foul.
Namibia finally equalised when they won a penalty for a foul in the box, with Jason Karigub converting from the spot. They continued to attack and took the lead when a free kick by George Hummel was parried into the path of Katoorua Mbuende, who slammed it high into the net, while Ndengu sealed Namibia's victory when he pounced onto a Zambian defensive error to put the ball into an empty net.
The Games saw about 800 athletes from Angola, Eswatini, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia competing in nine sporting codes, namely football, netball, volleyball, tug-of-war, athletics, chess, darts, pool, and golf.
