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another turn yesterday with the former chief executive filing a notice of opposition in the High Court against an order to return the disputed property.
Zifa have been insisting that Rushwaya, fired for alleged mismanagement and insubordination in October last year, should return the vehicles as they were donated by the late Vice President Joseph Msika to the association and not to individuals.
Three of the vehicles and three generators were sourced by the late Vice President, who was also the Zifa patron, through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe while the fourth vehicle – a Toyota Hilux – was originally bought for the technical director (Nelson Matongorere) using a grant from the Confederation of African Football.
Although Zifa had filed a court application seeking to have Rushwaya ordered to release the vehicles and generators, the former chief executive yesterday argued that the property was never Zifa’s as it was donated to the Warriors Trust.
The matter had been set for a hearing before High Court judge Justice Anne Mary Gowora following Zifa’s application but once it emerged that Rushwaya’s notice of opposition had been accepted by the High Court, the case changed its status and the parties will now have to argue their claims before another judge at a date yet to be set.
In her opposing affidavit, Rushwaya also claimed that, although she was no longer a Zifa employee, she was still with the Warriors Trust.
She also said only three Isuzu trucks were delivered and not four as claimed by Zifa.
Rushwaya further stated in her opposing affidavit that only two generators were handed over to the trust.
Zifa lawyer Ralph Maganga had made an application for default judgment but the case took a new twist after Rushwaya’s lawyer Selby Hwacha of Dube Manikai and Hwacha filed a notice of opposition before the matter had bean heard by Justice Gowora.
The case was then indefinitely deferred and is set to be heard as an opposed matter on a date to be advised.
It is Zifa contention that they own the vehicles and the generators as they were earmarked for use by the national coach, Zifa president, and chief executive with the associating insisting that this meant the persons occupying those three offices were entitled to use the cars and not necessarily particular individuals.
Wellington Nyatanga was the Zifa president at the time of the donation with Brazilian Valinhos the national coach.
The Isuzu that Valinhos was using was later handed to Sunday Chidzambwa when he replaced the Brazilian with the Black Leopards coach also surrendering it to Zifa following his resignation to take up a post with Free State Stars last year.
In their application, Zifa argued that since Rushwaya had been dismissed, she should surrender the vehicles to the association adding that she had no basis to hold on to them.
But Rushwaya’s camp hit back and argued that the late Vice President’s Office donated the property to the Trust and not to Zifa.
The trust, according to Rushwaya, was founded by the likes of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi, businessman Phillip Chiyangwa, former ministers Bright Matonga and Patrick Zhuwawo.
Politician Tendai Savanhu, according to the opposing papers, is the current and founder chairman while Rushwaya was appointed the co-ordinator of the Trust by the trustees while Jabulani Ndebele, a director in the office of the late Vice President was also a trustee.
“I am the undersigned Henrietta Rushwaya do hereby make oath and swear I am the first respondent in this matter. The facts stated in this application are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
“I pray that the application (by Zifa) be dismissed with costs for the following reasons:
- Firstly as a matter of procedure, I make the point that the applicant has pursued the wrong procedure. As will be clear from this opposing affidavit, there are numerous and foreseeable disputes of the facts, which render the matter completely unsuitable for hearing by way of court application.
- Furthermore it is my respectful view that on the basis of its own averments, the applicant is in the wrong court. This is because as is clear from applicant’s papers, the dispute as presented is a labour matter. The issue of my purported dismissal is still pending awaiting arbitration in terms of the Labour Act”
Rushwaya also chronicled the history of the Warriors Trust and how the property was donated by the RBZ.
“On June 5 2008 the late Vice President Joseph Msika received a contribution to the Warriors Trust from the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
“Importantly, the donation was not made to the applicant, Zifa, but specifically to the Warriors Trust,” she said.
Rushwaya also attached a copy of the speech by the Vice President Msika at the Zifa Village in Mt Hampden, in 2008, on the day of the hand-over of the vehicles and the 40-seater buses, which were to be used by the national teams.
She accused Zifa vice president Ndumiso Gumede of “placing wrong and disputed facts” in his affidavit to support the association’s application, saying he only became Zifa vice-president in March 2010 and was not in any of the association’s structures in 2008.
“I have attached a copy of the Honourable late Vice President’s speech. For the purpose of this case the Vice President’s speech clarifies that the donation was to support football, health and other needy areas in the country.
“He also explained the items donated would be administered by the Warriors Trust Committee through its chairperson and me as the co-ordinator. Neither the applicant nor Mr Gumede are members of the Warriors Trust committee,” Rushwaya said.
She also said that in 2008, Zifa had unsuccessfully requested the Vice President’s office to have the vehicles registered as Zifa property. Rushwaya said she had also gone through RBZ Governor Gideon Gono’s affidavit and had been convinced that the Central Bank boss had not indicated that the property was donated to Zifa.
“I have also had an opportunity to read the affidavit filed by the Governor of the Reserve of Bank of Zimbabwe Dr Gono with respect, Dr Gono’s affidavit does not distract from the fact that the vehicles were not donated to Zifa but to the Warriors Trust through the Vice President” Rushwaya said.
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