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Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter
LOCAL football fans have hailed the move by FIFA to ban former ZIFA Referees Committee secretary-general, Obert Zhoya, for five years from all football-related activities after being found guilty of sexually harassing female referees.
Zhoya, who resigned from his post in April this year, was also fined US$20 400.
The development somehow vindicates the Sports and Recreation Commission who suspended the entire ZIFA Board in November last year over an array of accusations, chief amongst them being the sexual offences.
And the decision by FIFA left fans bitter against Zhoya and his former boss Bryton Malandule, who is also under investigation over sexual offences by CAF.
Three female referees had raised the complaints against Zhoya and the FIFA Adjudicatory Chamber of the Independent Ethics Committee subsequently found him guilty.
Zhoya’s ban comes after one alleged victim told British newspaper, the Guardian, she had been “humiliated, intimidated and degraded” by Zhoya, claiming she had received a series of WhatsApp messages from him asking her to spend the night with him in a hotel.
“The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has banned Mr Obert Zhoya, former secretary general of the referees committee of the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) from all football-related activities for a duration of five years, after having found him guilty of abusing his position to sexually harass three female Zifa referees,” read a statement from FIFA on Thursday.
“Upon careful analysis of the written statements of the victims as well as the various evidence collected during the investigations conducted by the investigatory chamber, the adjudicatory chamber was comfortably satisfied that Mr Zhoya had breached art. 23 (Protection of physical and mental integrity), art. 25 (Abuse of position) and, by corollary, art. 13 (General duties) of the Code of Ethics.”
Allegations of sexual harassment against Zhoya were first reported by the local media in September 2020, but it was not until the alleged victims reported the claims to police in December 2021, that a formal investigation was launched.
In November 2020 the allegations were sent to FIFA, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations.
Joyce Cook, FIFA’s chief social responsibility and education officer, said FIFA initially referred the allegations to CAF for three months because it “did not have the competence to investigate and judge such conducts”. One alleged victim wrote to ZIFA expressing concern that her complaints were not being taken seriously.
“I would like to put on record that he had been making these unwelcome sexual advances since September 2019,” she wrote. “The allegations I make herein are backed by evidence in the form of phone call voice recordings. I then got the courage from the evidence I had, and learning that I’m not the only one (who) was subject to this harassment.
“I have been on the ZIFA (referees) panel since 2019, I’m 30 years old. I expected to be treated with respect, not like a lady of the night. I however request you to look into the matter and possibly address the issue and in the process protect me and my fellow female referees who are suffering silently.”
Social media was awash with fans calling out the sex predators in the ZIFA top echelons to order.
“This is so sad and embarrassing. This abuse might have been taking place with female referees keeping quiet for a long time,” said Lisa Nyama.
“I am very sure some other female referees were not disclosing the abuse out of fear.”
Timmy Utahwashe said Zhoya’s sentence was not deterrent enough.
“Five years ban for sexual offences is just too little. He was supposed be banned for life. We don’t need people like that in our game,” he said.
Felistas Mukunha said Zhoya’s case should be brought before the courts of law.
“I think our judiciary should also look into it and throw him into jail,” she said.
Zhoya hasn’t indicated whether he will appeal the sentence.
Online Reporter