‘I am no praise singer’

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
VETERAN administrator and Zifa vice-president Ndumiso Gumede says he will never be any team’s praise singer.
He has described those who allege he is a tribalist as misguided individuals bent on mischief.
Gumede has come under heavy criticism from some soccer quarters especially the Dynamos family who accuse him of having an agenda against their team’s championship bid.

Gumede has received a barrage of insults especially on pro-Dynamos social media sites and has been accused of appointing “anti-Dynamos referees” who are given instructions to make sure the Harare giants don’t enjoy their 90 minutes of football.
Mutare-based Patrick Marumbi does the referees’ appointments.

“I am the one who appoints those referees and no one else does that,” said Marumbi.
Last week, Dynamos’ secretary-general Webster Chikengezha wrote a letter of protest before their league match against Chicken Inn protesting over the appointment of top notch referee Hardly Ndazi to handle their match as well as Gumede as the match commissioner.
Chikengezha is also the managing director of Nyaradzo Funeral Services, a company that sponsors Highlanders, Dynamos and Caps United.

He is reported to be interested in running for office at either Zifa or the Premier Soccer League.
“The noise does not really worry me; the accusations are baseless and mischievous. For those who care to know, I spent more than 60 percent of my working life in Harare and surely if I was a tribalist as these elements claim, I surely would have had a terrible time there,” said the respected administrator.

He said he had been a match commissioner since 2000.
“I am also not the first high ranking Zifa official to be a match commissioner, my predecessor Kenny Marange was a commissioner. By the way I am merely an acting leader and the Zifa board can at any given time remove me and appoint someone else as long as that person will not be a Dynamos praise singer,” said Gumede.

He said he would never bow down to any club, Dynamos included, as that would be tantamount to promoting anarchy in the land.
Before their league match against Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium which they won 1-0, Dynamos threatened not to fulfil the fixture if Ndazi was appointed referee of the day.

The Harare giants’ officials and even players have been making noise and unsubstantiated claims that there was a plan to derail their championship charge.

This is not the first time that the veteran administrator has faced wild allegations.
During the Asiagate investigations, Gumede had to dress like a woman as a disguise after being threatened with unspecified action by some unknown people, some of whom were also accusing him of taking a tribal position in the investigation.

This was despite the fact that some of those accused had already pleaded guilty through their written submissions.