Mliswa raises dust in Parliament

Eddie Chikamhi, Senior Sports Reporter

NEWLY-ELECTED Mashonaland West Rugby chairman Temba Mliswa on Thursday raised some dust in parliament when he alleged that the recent elections at Zimbabwe Rugby Union were flawed and should be declared null and void.

Mliswa, a former member of parliament, who also has a strong interest in the goings-on in rugby, tore into the ZRU board election process that ushered in a new leadership fronted by Losson Mtongwiza.

Of the 18 members eligible to vote, 17 cast their ballots in an election that had generated interest in the build-up to the annual meeting.

Mtongwiza emerged a close 7-6 winner over his predecessor Aaron Jani, who Mliswa claimed was ineligible for the ballot after serving two terms.

This is despite Jani having first completed the remainder of Nyararai Sibanda’s during his initial tenure.

“There is still noise about the elections, no two ways about it,” said Mliswa.

“To me if the election was held and one of the people who was not supposed to vote, voted, the elections are null and void.

“He was supposed to not contest because he had served two terms, and then he voted. If he wants third term he could have amended the constitution; follow the due process. But if he didn’t, from a constitutional point of view, then the elections are null and void,” said Mliswa.

He also alleged anomalies on the members who voted.

“The constitution requires you, if you are not going to vote, to nominate a proxy. The proxies came from the floor they did not come from the provincial meetings because if the chairman is not going, the provincial board must sit down and elect a proxy.

“We can’t have a proxy being picked on the day of the meeting. The proxies who voted were chosen on the ground. There are no minutes at all indicating their election. You can as well pick a street kid and say go and vote.”

Mliswa’s statements were corroborated by Masvingo provincial chairperson Victor Burukai, and his Manicaland counterpart Moss Kapumha.

“There were a few irregularities, according to the constitution,” said Burukai.  “In a way I would say (the elections) were flawed.”

Kapuma said some of the provinces were in good standing.

“Some members were saying they hadn’t held their AGMs and some had overrun their terms of office and they still went ahead and voted, which is not according to the constitution,” said Kapuma.

Mtongwiza denied the claims made by Mliswa and said the former parliamentarian was misinformed on current rugby issues.

“Mliswa is completely misinformed. There are a lot of things he has said and there are a lot of people that he has attacked.

“I think it’s just because he does not have the information.”

Mtongwiza challenged Mliswa to update himself on the current state of rugby in the country before making sensational claims.

“He has only been elected for three weeks; he has not attended a single board meeting yet.

“When we have our board meeting and we take him through our confidence and the way things happen in rugby he will understand.

“He has been involved before, back in the 1990s and I was involved with him as well, so his information is completely outdated and I am hoping that the press do not take most of the things he said as the actual voice of rugby in the country but his personal calls,” said Mtongwiza.

The chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sports, Chamu Chiwanza, urged ZRU leadership to put their house in order and would extend another invitation for more submissions.

“Today we will prematurely end this because I feel emotions are running high. Come back with our report because we want to know what is happening in rugby.

“Come back with all your executive members. Bring all the chairpersons. Resolve your internal problems because when you in the leadership fight it’s the grassroots that suffer.

“So away with corruption, away with all these machinations and unite for the benefit of rugby,” said Chiwanza.