adminPetros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
ASPIRING zifa board member Saidi Sangula will have to wait for at least 48 hours before he knows whether his bid to seek a High Court injunction barring the association from holding elections would have met with success. Sangula yesterday took his fight against the staging of elections by zifa to the High Court and filed an urgent chamber application.
But Justice Francis Bere, who heard the matter in his chambers late yesterday afternoon, deferred the case to tomorrow.
The ZPC Kariba official who wants to contest for a place on the zifa board has alleged some flaws in the manner in which the elections are being conducted and wants the process halted.
Sangula, a legal practitioner, is being represented by Harare lawyers Mawere and Sibanda.
Zifa are cited as the first respondents while the Sports and Recreation Commission with whom Sangula had earlier unsuccessfully sought recourse are the second respondents.
It is the former Northern Region chairman’s contention that the electoral process which will culminate in the national zifa board elections on March 29, should be stopped allegedly because it is in violation of the association’s amended constitution as well as the electoral code.
Sangula listed a number of points which he said form the basis of his application and these include:
Applicant is intending to be a candidate in the zifa elections scheduled to be held on March 29, 2014
On February 24, when doing his research into the process in which he would necessarily need to be involved discovered that the composition of the elective body to conduct the said elections was flawed in that nearly all of the members of the said body were qualified to hold the office. He has found the numbers of the committee inflated from the eight allowed by their laws to at least 11
On the same day, the applicant addressed a complaint to the 2nd respondent for urgent redress of this anomaly in the sure hope that the issue would be rectified.
Second respondent delayed in its response and finally on the March 7, 2014, first respondent caused publication of its negative repose in a local newspaper instead of serving same on applicant, leading to applicant to request vital minutes relating to the congress of first respondent which he had no access to as he was prevented from attending the said congress.
Applicant has since advised that there are no ready minutes for the congress
Applicant is thus left pondering the legitimacy of a flawed poll in which he is to contest and further the very real spectre of bias arising from a patently flawed electoral body.
Accordingly applicant having just been advised that he will get no redress in the newspaper response of March 7, 2014, and further correspondence from first respondent has no other adequate alternative remedy against respondents other than this urgent chamber application.
In the premises applicant is seeking an order interdicting the holding of any polls for Zifa under the current electoral committee pending rectification of the composition of the same.
Applicant harbours a fear that if respondents are not interdicted, irreparable harm would result from the holding of a flawed process as the national administration of football would be thrown into turmoil by subsequent nullification of elections, which could simply be avoided by stopping the process in its tracks,’’ Sangula said.
Sangula also attached the response his lawyers got from zifa following their priests about the case being publicized in the media.
zifa, who are being represented by Harare lawyer Lewis Uriri dismissed Sangula’s claims that they had used the media to respond to him and told Mawere and Sibanda that their client’s protest to the Sports Commission had never been copied to the association as did the Commission’s inquiry from zifa.
“Your client’s complaint letter was addressed to the Sport and Recreation Commission and we naturally responded to the said institution after the same requested a reaction from us. The letter was never addressed to us as per protocol. Further it was the prerogative of the Sport and Recreation Commission to serve your client since the letter had been sent to them directly,’’ read part of the Zifa letter.
zifa also argue that the minutes which Sangula is demanding “are only circulated to members/affiliates of zifa. We currently are unaware which affiliate your client represents,’’ zifa said.
Sangula also argued in application that on the balance of convenience he stood to so suffer more harm than zifa if the court does not grant him the relief that he seeks.
“ . . . the respondents cannot be prejudiced by an order which simply ensures that the status quo is maintained until this Honourable court decides on the summons matter referred to.
“I aver that this Honourable court should lean in favour of protecting applicant’s interest as clearly established herein as the balance of convenience lies squarely in favour of the relief that applicant seeks.”
Online Reporter