Zimbabwe’s suspension from all football activities will be elevated to a fully-fledged ban on March 31 during FIFA’s congress meeting in Qatar, football officials have said.
Suspended ZIFA officials raised alarm in a letter to Acting Prosecutor General Nelson Mutsonziwa on Friday, days after Kenyan publication People Daily reported that the ratification will be confirmed if Kenya and Zimbabwe has not met the requirements stipulated by FIFA in order for the suspension to be lifted.
The suspended ZIFA executive members say, in light of distrust born by various allegations against them, they are prepared to be part of any government-appointed delegation appointed to engage FIFA.
The accused have put the state on notice that they will approach the court for variation of their bail conditions to allow them to travel and engage with FIFA during the Congress in Qatar.
“The Accused persons are more than ready to engage with the State and all relevant stakeholders for purposes of resolving the issues bedevilling football in time for the FIFA congress which is slated for the 28 to 31st of March 2022 in Doha,” Admire Rubaya who is representing the suspended ZIFA executive members, wrote in a letter to the Mutsonziwa.
“Our clients’ intention is for ZIFA to attend the FIFA Congress, together with other relevant stakeholders in a bid to prevent the impending full-fledged ban,” he continued.
“The accused persons are aware that there are certain larger-than-life characters who have been misleading key Government Stakeholders such as the State, the Police, the President’s Department and the Government of Zimbabwe in general, with the intention of tainting our clients’ reputations so that they appear as bad persons for Zimbabwean football.”
The letter, seen by Zim Morning Post, comes as ZIFA president Felton Kamambo and four executive members – Phillemon Machana, Stanley Chapeta, Joseph Mamutse and Bryton Malandule were arraigned before a Harare Magistrate accused of abusing the football body’s letterheads when they wrote letters of suspension to ZIFA Congress members.
Kamambo, Machana and Chapeta, were placed on remand and granted bail on 14th February, 2022, with the exception of Mamutse and Bryton Malandule who are not subject to any bail conditions.
As one of the conditions for the referenced bail, accused persons were prohibited from communicating with FIFA.
Kamambo, Machana and Chapeta said while they had religiously complied with the bail conditions imposed by the Court since the 14th of February 2022 to date, the bail condition was ludicrous.
“The Accused persons’ compliance with the bail conditions is despite the fact that they take the firm view that the aforesaid bail condition imposed on them was inappropriate and unnecessary in the circumstances, as will be demonstrated below. Our instructions are that we request for your consent to its removal, in view of our intention to urgently seek the removal of the referenced condition,” Rubaya wrote.
“It is critical to note, from the onset, that after the Accused appeared before the Court in this matter, FIFA went on to suspend ZIFA. The suspension effectively means that ZIFA lost all its membership rights; and the Zimbabwean National team, and all our local football clubs are no longer able and/or entitled to take part in International Competitions unless and until the suspension is lifted,” he continued.
The suspended ZIFA officials urged the Acting Prosecutor General to make an independent opinion relating to the sufficiency of the charges against them, adding the charges should be dismissed as malicious, frivolous and vexatious.
“Our clients assert that the SRC has engaged in a lawfare designed to annihilate the Felton Kamambo-led ZIFA Executive through illegal suspensions,” Rubaya wrote.
“However, our clients have sought to refute all the allegations that have been raised by SRC and urges you to consider document titled The Untold Story. It would be critical for you to note that the circumstances in terms of which the abuse of the criminal justice System by the SRC, its side-kicks and enablers to silence the elected ZIFA Executive Committee, which they are fighting against in a football dispute, has been interpreted by FIFA as “political interference by SRC in football administration in Zimbabwe.”
The suspended ZIFA board said they do not intend to appear to be inferring with the law and are prepared to answer to valid criminal charges if there is a real reasonable suspicion that they committed a criminal offence.
They argued that, however, in this instance their liberty was being curtailed without the presumption of innocent until proven guilty.
Kenya and Zimbabwe have both been suspended by the world’s football governing body, FIFA, owing to government interference in the operations of the national football federations.
Nairobi and Harare dissolved their federations late last year and replaced them with government-appointed officials
The ZIFA Congress is set to hold an EGM in early April to revoke the mandate of the Kamambo led board. There are reports that the EGM intends to keep board members Sugar Chagonda and Farai Jere on board while revoking the mandate of Kamambo and Machana.
It is said the SRC will then move in to reinstate the ZIFA board minus officials whose mandates would have been revoked.
“That intended EGM cannot validate the illegality bedevilling the ill-conceived suspension of the ZIFA board,” Rubaya wrote.
“It is just but a fallacy and not the solution to the problem. The only solution is to uplift the illegal suspensions by SRC and thereafter engage FIFA as a united front.”
“In the circumstances, we advise that prior to the next remand date, the Accused persons will approach the court for variation of their bail conditions to allow them to travel to FIFA and engage with FIFA during the congress.”
“Our clients have already been invited, as more fully appears from the unsolicited invitations which were sent Mr Joseph Mamutse. Our clients are aware of the lack of trust that has resulted from the allegations against them. As such, to curtail same, the Accused persons are prepared to be part of any government-appointed delegation appointed to engage FIFA.”
“Alternatively, the Accused persons place the State on notice that they will challenge their intended further remand on the basis that the facts alleged by the state do not constitute an offence known at law.
