Tripple B cry foul

many influential interested parties in their Zifa Central Region Division One dispute with Hardbody.
The Beitbridge team are embroiled in a bitter boardroom battle against Hardbody, which has delayed the crowning of the league’s champions, after the latter appealed against a disciplinary committee ruling docking 42 points from their tally.
Hardbody were stripped of the points for allegedly using an improperly registered player, Tendai Chingarah, during their campaign.
The Gweru-based team’s owner, Takesure Sibanda, was also hauled before the Zifa Central Region disciplinary committee and found guilty of attempted match-fixing.
He was, despite the gravity of the case in an association that has pledged zero tolerance to corruption, fined just US$1 000 and allowed to continue working in his role as a football administrator.
Sibanda will pay US$800 after US$200, which he allegedly paid Mbuse before the game against Gweru Pirates, was handed back to the Zifa Central Region.
Hardbody also feature prominently in the Central Region match-fixing scam, centred on the bribing of match officials, which has led to the suspension of Zifa board members – Patrick Hokonya and Gift Banda.
Sibanda’s secretly recorded audio conversation with referee Albert Mbuse, where they discussed payments clandestinely made to match officials, is being used by Zifa as part of their key evidence in the Central Region match-fixing saga.
But while Sibanda has already been fingered as a big player in the Central Region match-fixing scam, including being found guilty and fined for his part in the web of corruption, his club Hardbody remains untouched by the controversy surrounding their owner.
How Sibanda’s deeds remain separated from his club, in a scenario where Hardbody could have possibly benefited improperly from the shadowy web of activities, remains unclear.
Interestingly, for now, only Hardbody’s case, related to using a player who had not yet been issued with a reverse international clearance when he returned from Namibia, is what has gripped Zifa’s interest.
There is deafening silence from Zifa on the effects that Sibanda’s conviction, by the Central Region disciplinary committee for which he had already paid a fine, on his club Hardbody.
No wonder Tripple B are feeling helpless in this scenario.
Tripple B, who could have been crowned champions and gained a ticket into the Premiership had the decision to dock 42 points from Hardbody’s tally stood, reiterated yesterday that their confidence, in getting a fair ruling from the Zifa Appeals Committee, had vanished.
Last week Tripple B made sensational claims that Zifa lawyer, Ralph Maganga, was related to Hardbody owner, Sibanda, something which they claimed compromised the justice delivery system in their dispute.
Maganga has since denied the allegations with his lawyers saying the only relationship their client has with Hardbody is centred on legal counsel which the Zifa lawyer provides for Zimratu, a body where the Gweru club’s official Pithius Shoko, is a member.
Yesterday, Tripple B reiterated that they were still concerned about the impartiality of the Zifa Appeals Committee to deliver a fair ruling on the dispute involving Hardbody.
“Our main concerns are that the presiding committee that was put into office to handle our issues against Hardbody is trustworthy,” the Beitbridge club said in a statement.
Tripple B claim that details of the meetings held by the Central Region, in relation to the dispute, which were sent to Zifa House for them to be delivered to the club’s Harare agent to enable the Beitbridge team to draft their response, ended up in the wrong offices.
A number of interested parties to their dispute ended up having access to those documents, something which Tripple B claim will enable them to give professional guidance to Hardbody in the dispute.
Tripple B claimed in their statement that Maganga and Zifa Appeals Committee secretary, Timothy Sangarwe, share the same offices and, given their reservations on Maganga, they feel justice cannot be seen to be delivered in such a scenario.
The Beitbridge club also claimed that their fears that the key documents from Central Region had landed in the wrong hands, giving Hardbody an advantage to prepare for their case, were confirmed at the hearing held last week.
“Also, an interesting issue is that the secretary, Sangarwe, went on to ask Hardbody to make a prayer for their appeal and what was his interest in asking them to do that?” said Tripple B in their statement.
“We had some unsigned documents from Hardbody that were to be used in the hearing and, during the course of the hearing, some Hardbody officials went out of the house.
“And, upon their return, a lady from Zifa came in with a signed document and where it originated from, we don’t know and the question was – Who asked her to bring that document as no-one had made a request unless if someone had sent her an sms from his phone.”
Tripple B also questioned how Hardbody officials ended up in possession with an International Clearance Certificate for Chingarah when such documents are stored at Zifa House.
“If a team needs an international clearance, be it from Zifa or any other football association, they will be only notified by the association to go ahead and register the player (when such a document is issued to the association),” read Tripple B’s statement.
“In this instance there were rumours that the player in question did not have a clearance from Zifa to go and play in Namibia and our own association had nothing in file and how can this be because the said player was registered to play in Namibia?
“The interesting part is Hardbody have got Tatenda Chingarah’s ITC issued by Zifa and the question is how and why did Zifa avail this ITC to Hardbody or how did Hardbody get this from Zifa when they are not supposed to be in possession of that document?”