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Cuthbert Dube

Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube has allegedly set his chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze on a witch-hunt against members fed up with his continued leadership.

Sources say since returning from the Fifa congress in Zurich last week, Mashingaidze had embarked on a fishing expedition in a bid to weed out those that masterminded Dube’s “suspension” at the Zifa extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held in Harare last month.

Board members Fungai Chihuri and Tavengwa Hara were also “kicked out”.

Fifa came to the rescue of Dube, Hara and Chihuri by declaring the suspension null and void and recommended that an extraordinary congress be held by June 16 to comply with the Zifa constitution.

Mashingaidze has announced that the meeting would now be held on June 27, which the councillors are contesting as it violates the Fifa directive.

Since Mashingaidze has failed to call for an extraordinary meeting within 90 days as demanded by the constitution, the councillors say they will now hold the indaba on June 20.

Zifa has been dodging calls for an AGM amid reports that members of the executive committee are aware that the councillors have been pushing for their expulsion.

A source from the Northern Region said: “Why wait any longer when things keep on getting worse at Zifa. Look, had we held the meeting within the prescribed period even these shoddy Warriors’ preparations would have been avoided. As it is, Mashingaidze is busy witch-hunting, trying to intimidate councillors by asking them to either write reports or fill in a form which asks one to state the affiliate they represent and check if they are in good and regular standing in terms of paying affiliation fees.

“The form also asks whether one attended the May 16 meeting or not. As for affiliation, how do you ask about that when we never had a meeting where affiliation fees were discussed? It’s simple things like these which show that Zifa is in a leadership crisis as they don’t subscribe to corporate governance ethics.”

This is the first time councillors have been asked about affiliation fees before attending a general meeting.

“What they’re trying to do is to divide us and even bar some individuals from attending the extraordinary meeting. They know that if the majority attend that meeting they’ll stick to the earlier decision to kick out Dube and his ‘men’. Actually Dube has been thriving on divide and rule tactics. He awards those perceived to be his loyalists with national team trips.”

The source disclosed that Brian Chishanga of Gweru, Cecilia Gambe, Robert Tembo and John Stuart Remba are some of the Zifa officials that have been rewarded with national team trips for being Dube’s loyalists.

An official only identified as Saika was head of delegation for the Young Warriors’ trip to Cameroon for the Africa Games qualifier and allegedly became a nuisance, getting drunk on duty, resulting in him and a Zifa security officer being left behind in the West African country after they were held for failing to settle their bills.

Board members, who include John Phiri, Chihuri and Hara, have all benefited from the Zifa boss’ benevolence.

According to the source, Chihuri attended a Cosafa general meeting as acting Zifa president last year while Phiri represented the country at a Caf meeting in Egypt. Recently, Hara travelled with Dube and Mashingaidze to Fifa’s elective congress in Switzerland.

“Why is the vice-president (Omega Sibanda) being shut out of all these official trips? It’s because they’re afraid that once he attends, he’ll interact with Cosafa, Caf and Fifa officials and brief them on the true status of Zifa. As Zifa vice-president, Sibanda should have attended those meetings which require the presence of the presidium and the general secretary.

“There’s too much tension within the organisation such that Dube, Mashingaidze and their loyalists are the only ones who know what’s really going on in the organisation.

“In the past, there used to be a bulletin, which Mashingaidze would email to the leadership to keep them abreast of events but that has all stopped,” the source said.

Even the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture is aware that the Zifa ship is sinking but cannot intervene for fear of getting Zimbabwe banned by Fifa as such action is deemed political interference.