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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
SPARE a thought for Gift Banda.
On Tuesday, he probably remembered that in a month’s time, he would be marking the third anniversary of the day he was handed the mandate to become the second most powerful man in Zimbabwean football.
That was on December 16, 2019.
On that day, the Bulawayo businessman, whose football passion drove him to own former Premiership side, Njube Sundowns, beat Omega Sibanda to land the role of ZIFA vice-president.
Felton Kamambo also swept to power that day, with a shock victory over Philip Chiyangwa, who chose not to contest the winner-take-all second round of the poll.
The first round had failed to produce a clear winner.
But on December 16 this year, Banda will not be celebrating the third anniversary of the day he scaled into the hot seat of the ZIFA vice-presidency.
Instead, he will be marking 1 053 days in isolation.
The clock will mark two years 11 months, since he was suspended by his fellow board members from his post as ZIFA vice-president.
That was on January 18, 2019.
For Banda, December 16, this year will mark about 35 months,since he was pushed out of his seat on a suspension in a case which is yet to be resolved.
That is about 150 weeks of unending drama, which is probably the perfect definition of what it means when judges say justice delayed is justice denied.
That’s about 25 272 hours stuck in the cold, unable to execute the mandate he was given by the councillors in a clear majority to be the ZIFA vice-president.
It will be about 3 136 320 minutes stuck in the wilderness, unable to exercise his role as the second in command, when it comes to the domestic football structures.
And it will be more than 188 179 200 seconds, since he was handed the letter, advising him he had been suspended from his role as Kamambo’s immediate lieutenant.
The wheels of justice at ZIFA are probably the slowest in the history of football in the world.
But, even more remarkable, is the fact that FIFA have been watching from a distance, showing very little concern to what is a clear case of injustice.
For an international body which has built its foundation on the core values of Fair Play, Banda’s case is one which shows there is still a lot of ground to be covered, before everyone can feel they have the protection of the statutes.
Banda was suspended by his fellow board members for changing the composition of the Warriors technical team,without their consultation. Kamambo was out of the country when Banda made those changes.
However, the ZIFA disciplinary committee cleared Banda after he had spent more than a year on the sidelines, only for the ZIFA board to lodge an appeal against the judgment.
It marked the first time, and only time, in the history of domestic football that ZIFA have appealed against a decision passed by their own disciplinary committee.
The disciplinary committee, chaired by Tendai Masawi, cleared him of all allegations, including usurping the board’s powers by unilaterally dismissing the then Warriors assistant coaches, Lloyd Mutasa and Rahman Gumbo.
None of the coaches received a letter advising them of their dismissal, which effectively meant, according to the disciplinary committee, that Banda had merely recommended, rather than actioned, their removal.
However, ZIFA appealed against the judgment of their primary disciplinary arm, arguing that a number of other violations had not been noted during the process.
Since then, the case has just been packed, within the ZIFA judicial structures, without any signs of a possible resolution of the saga.
What this means is that Banda was still a bona-fide member the ZIFA board who was just serving a suspension from the domestic football leadership. And when the tsunami struck and swept away the ZIFA board this week, it also means Banda ended up being sanctioned, when though he hasn’t been active, within the leadership, for three years.
‘’He was still part of the ZIFA executive, if you check the disciplinary procedures which had been taking place, they talked about a suspension rather than an expulsion,’’ said a lawyer, who chose not to be named.
“The latest developments mean that he finds himself also being affected by the measures which have been prescribed, even though he was not part of the decisions,which were being made. Maybe, given his case is well known, especially in the sports circles, those who intervened, by this I mean the SRC, will be alive to the fact that his blameworthiness, in all this, is negligible.
“I’m not sure about how they intend to come up with a structure to run football, in the interim, but the truth is that Banda is part of those who have been suspended right now.
“It will be interesting to hear what he thinks.’’ Banda said he will comment in due course after consultations with his legal team.
Online Reporter