Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
A legal storm is gathering at Highlanders after the club’s advertised annual general meeting triggered complaints that the new constitution is already being bent, barely months after it was adopted.
Highlanders announced on Sunday that their 2026 annual general meeting will be held at the Highlanders Clubhouse on January 25. The notice appeared in the Sunday News of January 11, giving members just under two weeks before the meeting.
By Monday morning, Zimpapers Sports Hub had been inundated with calls from paid up members who believe the notice breaches the very constitution the club is supposed to adhere to.
At the centre of the dispute is Article 16 of the amended constitution, which states that submissions for “any other business” must be made 30 days before the AGM. Members argue that by advertising in mid January, the club has effectively shut the door on submissions.
“There is need for the club members to re-visit their constitution, especially Article 16,” said a legal expert last night. “There is nowhere it speaks to when the meeting should be advertised. It only says the AGM will be on the last Sunday of January every year. But submissions have to be 30 days before the meeting, which did not happen. For that to work, the advert should have been placed in December.”
The lawyer said the process leaves members with no formal avenue to raise issues at the AGM, a situation that could invite disputes and legal challenges.
“As it stands, there won’t be anything submitted for discussion. The notice period is effectively controlled by the sitting executive. In the past, they advertised three weeks before and allowed seven days for submissions. That gap is something the club needs to fix to avoid problems with members,” he said.
The same expert, however, praised Highlanders for maintaining the tradition of holding an AGM and presenting audited financial statements, something many local clubs have abandoned.
Among the unhappy members is Dumile Ncube, a long time Bosso card holder, who believes the safest option is to move the meeting altogether.
“I suggest that the AGM date be shifted to a date that gives enough time to paid up members to make submissions,” said Ncube. “Why are they doing something the constitution itself does not agree with?”
Ncube also raised concerns over membership verification, an issue that has haunted Highlanders in previous years.
“The constitution says production of valid membership cards is the entry requirement. How do we then know the right members attended when there are no names of attendees recorded in the minutes?” he asked, referring to past allegations that a former executive member held dozens of cards without explanation.
Another member, Lindiwe Maphosa, went further, arguing that the meeting is already illegal under the new constitution.
“Article 16.1 gives members 30 days to submit items for any other business. The notice was sent just two weeks before the AGM. There is an abnormality there,” said Maphosa. “We are not following the new constitution.”
She also questioned why the meeting was announced by the executive committee rather than the chief executive officer, as stipulated in the amended document.
“The constitution says the chief executive officer announces the meeting, but this one was announced by the Executive Committee. We may still be mixing the old and new constitution,” she said.
Several members who spoke to Chronicle shared the same view, insisting the advert should have appeared in December and should have clearly cited the constitutional clause under which the meeting was being convened.
With Bosso entering another crucial season, the dispute has reopened old wounds about governance, transparency, and who truly controls the levers of power at one of Zimbabwe’s biggest football institutions.
If unresolved, members warn the January 25 meeting could be challenged, turning what should be a routine AGM into another flashpoint in Highlanders’ long running internal battles.
Bongani Ndlovu