adminZifa board member Gift Banda on Saturday filed criminal defamation charges against Nyoni at Bulawayo Central Police Station, accusing him of lying about his involvement in the Central Region’s match-fixing scandal.
“I filed criminal defamation charges against Nyoni on Saturday. It is going to come out if I spoke to him. I want to know where and when we met,” said Banda last night.
He said he could not just stand and watch while a person tarnished his image.
Contacted for comment last night, Nyoni confirmed that police asked him to report to Bulawayo Central Police Station to discuss the issue yesterday.
“They phoned me but I did not go because I was too busy. A lot has been said about this matter and there is nothing new that I can add,” said Nyoni.
He said he was not worried about the police and did not care if they came to arrest him.
Contacted for comment, police spokesperson for Bulawayo, Inspector Moyo confirmed that Banda had filed defamation charges against Nyoni.
“Yes, Gift Banda filed defamation charges against Cosmas Nyoni. At the moment, I do not have information that he has been arrested,” said Insp Moyo.
Banda, who is the Zifa Southern Region chairman, was dragged into the Central Region’s corruption scandal by Nyoni who accused him of having a hand in trying to determine the outcome of matches.
Banda has maintained that he is the victim of a smear campaign by Nyoni whom he accused of changing the statement about his alleged involvement five times.
He alleged that he had never met or talked to Nyoni until after the investigations into what is alleged to have happened in the Central Region started.
The Zifa board is scheduled to meet in Harare tomorrow to discuss the crisis in the Central Region.
There is a possibility that Banda and the Central Region chairman, Patrick Hokonya, could be suspended over the scandal, which has been described as worse than Asiagate by Zifa vice-president Ndumiso Gumede.
Meanwhile, water supplies to Highlanders Football Club’s clubhouse were cut off over non-payment of bills two weeks ago.
The club’s chairman, Themba Ndlela, confirmed that water supplies had been disconnected over an outstanding water bill.
“I am not at liberty to tell you how much we are owing the city council, but I can tell you that it’s a normal bill just like what everyone pays.
“I cannot comment on such issues in the media, in fact I don’t discuss the club’s problems in public so I cannot tell you when we are going to pay,” said Ndlela.
Highlanders clubhouse has a sports bar and a restaurant.
A club member who preferred anonymity urged the executive to urgently attend to the problem saying a health hazard was looming.
“Having no water at a place that serves food and beer at the same time is a serious health risk and something needs to be done urgently,” said a patron of the club.
He said the club officials had resorted to bringing water in 20-litre containers from surrounding areas.
“If you go there you will see large containers filled with water, that is what they have resorted to, instead of paying the bills,” said another club patron.
An official at the clubhouse said the situation had reached deplorable levels.
“This is one of the biggest clubs in the country and I do not understand why they are failing to pay water bills. They should appreciate the fact that they are putting the health of patrons at risk,” said the official.
derick.khumalo