adminfailed yesterday after her application was dismissed.
Zifa Ethics Committee chaired by retired judge Justice Ahmed Ebrahim threw out the challenge by Rushwaya and her co-applicants, former Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambwa, Benjani Mwaruwari and Godfrey Japajapa, for lack of merit.
Benjani’s role in the application however, raises eyebrows as the former Portsmouth and Manchester City forward was never implicated in the match-fixing allegations and never travelled with the Warriors on any of their controversial trips to Asia.
The quartet of Rushwaya, Chiddzambwa, Benjani and Japajapa wanted the responsibility to determine their cases referred to the Sport and Recreation Commission.
Through their lawyer, Jonathan Samukange of Venturas and Samukange, the quartet argued that Zifa would not be fair to them since it was acting as “the police, prosecutor and judge’’ claiming that the Ethics Committee was an extension of the mother body.
Samukange last night confirmed that their bid was thrown out for lack of merit but said he would now approach the High Court for a review of the Ethics Committee decision.
“The application has been dismissed. The committee said it is independent and will not rubber stamp Zifa’s decisions, so we are now going to the higher court for review,” said Samukange.
In the application, Samukange had also argued that judging from the media reports, Zifa were determined to nail Rushwaya whom the mother body have also accused of being one of the brains behind the Asiagate scandal.
To substantiate his argument, Samukange extensively quoted news paper articles in which Zifa senior officials such as their chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze accusing Rushwaya of being the mastermind of Asiagate match-fixing scam.
He also took issue with another member in the ad-hoc committee, Emmanuel Chimwanda, a member of the Anti-Corruption Commission and is the Commissioner
responsible for the investigation.
Chimwanda prepared the docket for the purposes of prosecution and is currently prosecuting Rushwaya in a criminal case in Regional Court 15.
Samukange also argued that Advocate Lewis Uriri had been appointed prosecutor while he is also representing Zifa in a labour dispute involving Rushwaya.
However, Uriri strenuously opposed the application arguing that Zifa were merely applying Fifa statutes and that there were sufficient safeguards if one has any complaints, including raising it with the Court of Arbitration in Switzerland.
The ad-hoc committee was set up by Zifa to establish the extent of match- fixing and recommend penalties to those found guilty.
Ironically it is the same SRC which the quartet now wants to determine their cases which directed Zifa to probe the Asiagate scam and then report back to the supreme sports body with their findings.
Online Reporter