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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter

Zifa acting head of secretariat Xolisani Gwesela has dismissed reports doing rounds that some suspended executive committee members were still calling the shots in the operations of the association or it’s sub committees.

The executive committee was slapped with an indefinite suspension by the Sports and Recreation Commission mid last month over a number of charges including sexual harrassment of female referees by named individuals.

Since the suspension, reports have emerged that some of the board members, eager to remain in control of the association activities, were covertly giving instructions to the secretariat and even some members of the committees they were heading.

“These guys just don’t seem to want to let go, while others like Sugar Chagonda and to his credit president of the association Felton Kamambo have really chosen to stay put and out of the association business, their colleagues have been in defiance, just ask who has been making referees appointments,” said a source.

Felton Kamambo

The Zifa Referees Committee is headed by Bryton Malandule.

Efforts to get a comment from him were not successful as his mobile numbers were all not going through.

However Gwesela said the reports of interference from the suspended executive committee were not true.

“It’s not true what you are talking about, they (executive committee members) are on suspension,” said Gwesela.

Meanwhile,  witnesses to the ongoing Zifa elections bribery case unconsiously  threw Kamambo under the bus when they confessed in Court that they indeed received some money from Kamambo’s agent Robert Matoka. One of the witnesses Barbra Gorejena told the court that the money was for transport and food but not to influence her to vote for Kamambo.

Influenced or not, the Fifa Code of Ethics, especially Articles 19 and 20 are very explicit on what constitutes a gift or an  inducement and it also states clearly that when not sure of the intention, person’s bound by the FCE must either declare such or donate it to Fifa or any other Fifa recognised organization.

Under the same Ethics, Fifa sanctions both the giver and the receiver of such ‘gifts’.