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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter—
THE Highlanders FC electoral court had no authority to disqualify Ernest Maphepha Sibanda from running for the chairmanship, a legal expert said yesterday. City lawyer Costar Dube of Mcijo, Dube and Partners also questioned the legality of the electoral court after only three members out of six sat for the verification exercise on Monday.
“Maybe there is a clause somewhere in their Constitution that allows them to be three but ordinarily the quorum is usually two thirds so that the other party missing must be the minority whose presence would not really change the decision made by those that would have been present by virtue of their numbers,” said Dube.
The three-man committee of returning officer Luke Mnkandla, Jimmy Ncube and Elkanah Dube disqualified the former club chairman using Article 10.7 of the Highlanders FC Constitution. Other members of the electoral court, Dumisani Sandi, Ndumiso Sibanda and Justice Nicholas Mathonsi did not attend the vetting process.
“We invoked Article 10.7 of our Constitution which empowers us to exercise that right, we can either confirm or disqualify a candidate,” Mnkandla told the media on Monday. He said reasons for the disqualification will be given to members during the club’s annual general meeting on Sunday.
Asked about their composition, the legendary radio personality said the decision was made by all the six members of the committee.
“That is why we had to ask people to excuse us a bit as we were consulting other members of the committee,” said Mnkandla.
Article 10.7 of the Highlanders Constitution reads;
The nomination Court is empowered to receive nominations of candidates, to vet them, approve or disqualify any candidate and in so doing it shall be guided by the provisions of Article 9 of the Constitution.
Article 9, Qualifications for the executive committee positions reads; 9.1, A prospective candidate for any position in the executive committee must be a current fully paid up member of the club who has been so for an uninterrupted period of at least two years, immediately preceding his nomination.
Article 9.2 says such prospective candidate for any position in the executive committee must not be an unrehabilitated insolvent and must not have been convicted in the 10 years immediately preceeding his nomination of any crime involving dishonesty for which he has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment without the option of a fine or to a fine exceeding $50,000 or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
“It’s very clear therefore that the electoral court is guided by Article 9. The word ‘shall’ (in Article 10.7) means they are confined to that article, maybe if it was ‘may be’ guided by Article 9 the situation could be different because they would have chosen to be guided or not to be guided by Article 9 but now the wording clearly says ‘shall’, meaning they have to stick to Article 9,” argued Dube.
He said by that wording alone, it means the electoral committee had no room to move out of that provision.
“If he (Maphepha) is not in anywhere affected by Article 9 of the Highlanders Constitution in its entirety then the electoral court has no room to disqualify him because there is no any other vetting criteria that we know of according to their document. It’s no longer their own inclination or discretion but according to Article 9,” he said.
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