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Grace Chingoma
Senior Sports Reporter
EX-ZIFA president Felton Kamambo yesterday called a press conference in Harare in brazen defiance of the bail conditions pending the finalisation of their court cases at the Harare Magistrates Court.
Kamambo, who was flanked by ex-board members Philemon Machana, Bryton Malandule and former CEO Joseph Mamutse, are facing corruption and fraud charges at the courts.
Former Central Region chairman Stanley Chapeta, who is jointly accused, was also part of the conference.
The former ZIFA executives are on a warpath with the Sports and Recreation Commission and the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, unhappy with how they were kicked out of football administration on allegations of corruption, sexual harassment of referees and mismanagement of funds.
The rogue ex-ZIFA executives are also accused of misappropriating the organisation’s letterheads and as part of the bail conditions, the former executive members were told not to interfere with state witnesses, not to visit ZIFA premises or offices and not to purport as ZIFA officials directly or through proxy.
And yesterday’s meeting was in clear contravention of their bail conditions as they addressed football issues. The group has since been recalled by disgruntled ZIFA councillors through a vote of no confidence.
And, yesterday they seized the opportunity to vent their frustrations through a tirade aimed at the Sports Commission chairman Gerald Mlotshwa and the Minister of Sports Kirsty Coventry, who they accused of misrepresenting facts during a parliamentary question and answer session last week.
Kamambo and company disputed the Minister’s statement during the Parliament session in which Coventry hinted that the Government raised US$2 million for the Warriors’ AFCON participation in 2019 which was released to ZIFA.
They told the media they were doing so in their individual capacities as a way to plead their innocence. They said they were not doing anything wrong but were clearing the air as they have rights after they felt attacked by the utterances made by the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts Kirsty Coventry.
The Minister last week appeared in Parliament where she appraised the legislators on the state of football and the way forward regarding the suspension of Zimbabwe from international football.
Addressing the media, Machana said they were correcting the Minister’s position which they said was inaccurate.
“We note with concern endless, inaccurate, misleading, certainly unsubstantial and outright defamation utterances recently made in Parliament on the 29 March by Honourable Minister Coventry during question and answer session. The Minster raised the following false statements:
“For clarity, the reasons that the SRC stepped in and suspended the board were three. The first reason was that the Government had given ZIFA about US$2 million that has never been accounted for.
“Secondly, four female referees have come forward and given their statements to the police and they have been investigated, three of those board members who were on the ZIFA board, one of those members has already received a lifetime ban from FIFA the other one is pending a hearing by FIFA and will soon be found guilty.
“This is not the first time that the Minister has been quoted publicly making such malicious and damaging utterances. She once issued a press statement in 2022 where she alleged the suspended members were sex predators,” said Machana.
The former executive, who used to handle ZIFA’s purse said they only received $53 000 from the Government in 2019 which they paid the national team allowances. Machana presented the financial statements, with the disbursement of that amount to the players.
He said they have faced persecution from many people with some asking why they cannot resign and save the country’s football.
“There is a thinking that, some are saying “why don’t you resign so that you give football a fresh impetus,” as if resigning is a solution.
“The question is resigning from where? The official position of SRC is that we are revoked and Mamutse is fired. So it means officially, we are out of ZIFA.
“How do you resign from something that you are not part of? Had they reinstated, and maybe say “if we are not wanted by this small grouping which are claiming to be representing masses, why can’t we resign?”
“Then we can resign at least from some position but we are not promising any resignations. We will only do that and consider such when the time is ripe,” said Machana.
Machana, who was in total control of the show at yesterday’s press conference, also tried to whip people’s emotions by revealing his former working relationship with the Sports Commission chairman Mlotshwa.
He said they once worked together at the First National Building Society where he was an accountant and later became a state witness in a case that involved Mlotshwa. He said he had to disclose this to the Minister when the relationship between the then ZIFA board and Sports Commission nose-dived before they were eventually suspended.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter