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Sports Reporter
PROMINENT Zimbabwe football agent Kudzi Shaba is basking in the glow of his freedom after he was cleared of charges of allegedly being part of a cartel that was involved in the Limpopogate match-fixing scandal.
Shaba, who has facilitated the transfer of scores of local players to foreign clubs, was one of a number of people who were accused of being part of the shadowy cartel.
He maintained his innocence.
On Saturday, he was cleared by the local football authorities in a case in which former ZIFA chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya and programmes manager Jonathan Musavengana were handed life sentences.
Former Warriors’ coach Ian Gorowa and ZIFA board member Edzai Kasinauyo were handed 10-year bans.
Nation Dube, the former Warriors’ assistant coach, was banned for five years.
Kasinauyo claims he wasn’t dragged before a disciplinary hearing to argue his case and will be approaching the country’s football leadership for his defence to be heard.
Shaba said he was thrilled to be freed.
“When you are in business, like me, such negative stuff has an impact because people begin to look at you with suspicion and that causes a lot of damage,” Shaba said.
“Even though I always knew that I would be acquitted, simply because I was never part of all this, you tend to have a heavy load because people have a tendency believe everything that they read in the newspapers and what they hear on radio and television.
“I am happy that it’s our football leadership who have found out that I don’t have any case to answer and let me be clear that, simply because there was no case against me, I never appeared before a hearing to defend myself.
“The case against me, as I insisted from the beginning, was non-existent because I never took part in all this stuff because I believe in Fair Play and the values of football being played on a level playing field.
“Of course, I might have stepped on the toes of some people in this business but I am not one to seek vengeance for the pain that I suffered because I believe that God is there for all of us and this is a closed chapter and I am happy to move on.”
Shaba was part of the big crowd that watched the Warriors book their 2017 Nations Cup ticket at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
“It felt good to be part of that crowd, to support a team that means so much to me and I always believed that we had the players who could take us to Gabon because I know these boys and they are really talented,” said Shaba.
“I am fully supportive of what Philip Chiyangwa and his team are doing as our football leaders and they have moved mountains in a few months in charge and, if they want support, they can always count on me.
“We have serious potential in this country and if we are united we can do wonders in football I tell you and I think we now have a leadership that knows what is needed to take our game forward.”
Online Reporter