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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
THE suspended ZIFA board has extended the chaos in their corridors to the Premier Soccer League after they suspended the league’s chief executive officer Kenny Ndebele and the leadership at the country’s traditional “Big Three’’ clubs — Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United.
Dynamos’ Isaiah Mupfurutsa, Johnfat Sibanda of Highlanders and CAPS United’s Nhamo Tutisani face several allegations emanating from their involvement in the proposed special Extraordinary General Meeting that is set to revoke the mandate of the members of the current suspended ZIFA board.
In a move that has been seen as a threat to the life of domestic football, the Premier Soccer League chief executive, Ndebele, was also targeted by the Felton Kamambo-led board.
Philemon Machana and Bryton Malandule are the other members of the defiant board that was suspended last year.
The suspended board now has three active members after Sugar Chagonda, Barbra Chikosi and Farai Jere acknowledged the suspensions. The other member Stanley Chapeta has been operating illegally since his co-option was never ratified by the ZIFA Congress.
The association’s chief executive officer, Joseph Mamutse, who is also suspended by the Sports and Recreation Commission, dispatched the letters to the affected officials, who include the 27 councillors that requested for the special EGM that is meant to revoke the mandate of the Kamambo-led board.
“These guys are trying by all means to create chaos. They think by targeting the key members of the league they would render the PSL dysfunctional.
“They want football to be ungovernable, they want absolute chaos so that they attract the attention of FIFA.
“Besides, they also want to make sure that the EGM does not take place or that by the time it is held, they would have whipped everyone into line. So it’s more of intimidating the other members that have similar views,” said one of the suspended officials.
Premier Soccer League football is currently on a break and the PSL office has been busy laying the ground in anticipation of the resumption of football in less than two weeks.
The ZIFA board, which carried out the suspensions, was suspended in November last year by the Sports and Recreation Commission and the decision is yet to be lifted. So raising their arm to suspend other members could be a futile exercise.
The association’s chief executive officer, Mamutse, has also defied his own suspension and wrote the letters to the affected individuals, advising of disciplinary proceedings.
The letters were copied to the ZIFA disciplinary committee, the ZIFA assembly, the ZIFA board, PSL, CAF and FIFA. The Sports Commission was not mentioned.
Various charges are being levelled against the football administrators. In a letter to DeMbare’s board chairperson, Bernard Marriot, Mamutse said the suspension of the Glamour Boys executive chairman, Mupfurutsa, was “with immediate effect”.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association by copy of this letter hereby informs you that Mr Isaiah Mupfurutsa has been provisionally suspended from all association football activities, pending finalisation of the disciplinary proceedings which have since been instituted against the official in question.
“The suspension is with immediate effect. Mr Isaiah Mupfurutsa must cease forthwith to conduct any association football business during his provisional suspension.
“Any attempt to subvert this directive shall attract the full wrath of the association and sanctions shall be preferred against any member of the association deemed to be associating with the suspended official.
“Meanwhile, kindly favour the association with the replacement for the suspended official for ease of conducting association football business,” wrote Mamutse.
Letters with the same contents were also written to CAPS United for the suspension of Tutisani, while Mamutse, in his usual gaffe, addressed the letter meant for Bosso chairman Johnfat Sibanda to Manica Diamonds.
Ndebele has a separate charge sheet.
Here are the charges being laid against the three clubs’ leadership:
Convening several unauthorised ZIFA meetings with targeted ZIFA congress delegates (evidence and witnesses shall be led)
Fraudulently acquiring and using without authority minutes of ZIFA Executive Committee (proof is the use by petitioners of those minutes in various correspondence with stakeholders and third parties)
Fraudulently usurp as a ZIFA congress delegate the powers of a member of ZIFA to call for an EGM by acting without express authority of the said member. Section 28(2) of the ZIFA constitution is very clear that only ZIFA members can call for an EGM and not congress delegates
Undermining authority of bona fide ZIFA Executive Committee by refusing, ignoring and or rubbishing official enquiry communicated to yourself through the general secretary.
Putting football into disrepute and caused alarm and despondence through several press statements wherein you alleged several unproven transgressions on the current ZIFA board, made utterances that the current board was holding football at ransom, that their days in office were numbered, that the current board members were intimidating congress delegates through written threats all along knowing this to be untrue and without any shrewd of sustainable evidence.
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