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Fungai Muderere, [email protected] 

FORMER Zimbabwe Saints chairman and trustee Vincent Pamire has been kicked out of the club.

Yesterday members voted in a new six-member Board of Trustees as required by the club’s constitution at the team’s annual general meeting held at the Queens Park East Clubhouse.

The club had endured years of ambiguity with processes of how trustees were voted in or replaced unknown.

Pamire was until the meeting chairman of trustees that came into office in 2021 and had Never Nduru, Cliff Manhungo, E Bere, Ernest Tekere and Pamire as trustees. 

There are no minutes to the effect that the quintet was elected at an annual general meeting as required by the club’s constitution.

Pamire has been in and out of the club as a trustee since 1988 when the club acquired the clubhouse and he was among the trustees who ceded their properties as collateral when the club got bank loans back then.

Cephas Mkhonto was also on that board.

In between the years, there were times when Pamire was not among the trustees.

It was at yesterday’s Chauya Chikwata annual general meeting (AGM), that Pamire, who did not attend was not among those voted to be trustees.

Zimbabwe Saints interim executive chairman Lloyd Munhanga addresses members at the club AGM yesterday. Listening (from left) are board of trustees member Felix Dzumbunu and vice chairman Tawanda Ruzive

Gibson Homela who claims to have been a trustee in previous boards, was handed another mandate.

Homela was tasked to work towards bringing back Zimbabwe Saints to its former glory days together with the club’s outgoing chairman Felix Dzumbunu, Ebson ‘Sugar’ Muguyo, John Nyumbu, Ishmael Kaguru and Martin Mabvira. 

Homela, Nyumbu and Muguyo are club legends.

He challenged the club’s members and supporters to unite.

“I am against this reprimanding and firing of people in the newspapers. If anyone has got issues, today is the right time to say it out as we are gathered as a family. Today, I stand here to call upon all the Zimbabwe Saints family that is former players, former and current administrators, members and supporters to please come together and unite. Come on board with me and let’s revive this once mighty giant for our children.

I’m only here to make sure that the team goes back to the playing field and not for only personal gain,” said Homela.

It was a meeting that also ushered in an interim executive that will be chaired by Lloyd Munhanga who will be deputised by Tawanda Ruzive the former Quelaton director.

Munhanga was until yesterday the club’s chief executive officer/secretary-general. 

Caleb Sengu was elected as secretary-general in an executive that now has Tendai Nyandoro as treasurer. 

Lovejoy Mugadza, a former player based in the UK, and Edgar Dube are the two committee members.

The meeting was attended by 19 Chikwata members while 35 sent their apologies. 

That meant 54 out of 78 official members gave the meeting the go-ahead.

Munhanga said his immediate task is to make sure Zimbabwe Saints plays football again.

“We are an interim executive and I’m saying let’s unite and have Zimbabwe Saints play football again. We will be in charge for a year and will have elections next year,” said Munhanga. 

Meanwhile, Dzumbunu, who chaired the club for three years, decried funding challenges. 

“Last year was not an easy one, but we managed to score a few successes such as getting our own home ground fixed to Zifa requirements. We also managed to fulfil over 95 percent of our first-leg league games and we managed to hold our mid-year general meeting which however was poorly attended. Thereafter, we co-opted on board three members. With these three additions, we had hoped to get the club ticking. 

“However, no sooner had they come on board than they quickly disappeared citing a toxic working environment as the reason with one board member constantly interfering in the day-to-day operations,” said Dzumbunu.

He added: “Challenges of funding, especially to meet day-to-day running costs such as transport for technical staff and players. Sponsorship was hard to come by with the media and social media awash with negative sentiments about our accountability or lack of it. 

“This is despite the fact that the allegations of whatever offences occurred at whatever level of our organisation. We were all painted the same colour. The writing was always on the wall, with depleted funding mainly from well-wishers within our membership.”

“The club was run from the pockets of the executive and willing members, especially those in the diaspora. We had become senior beggars with the likes of Gibson Homela. Numerous appeals to the Board of Trustees fell on deaf ears as we sought clarification on their constitutionality as well as for financial assistance from revenue generated by club assets. With zero funding, the team failed to fulfill fixtures and was removed from the Southern Region Division One League.”

-@FungaiMuderere