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Showbiz Reporter
ONE of the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura) members, Fred Farai Nyakudanga has called for a probe into the association as he is not impressed with the way elections for the board were conducted.

He has thus, urged fellow members to put the Zimura Council to task.

Following the elective AGM held earlier this month where Albert Nyathi was re-elected as the chairperson of the Zimura board and First Farai as his deputy, Nyakudanga publicly declared that the elections were held illegally.

He said they did not tally with what the constitution says as he argued that a quorum was not reached.

Zimura held its elective AGM on May 2 in Harare and Nyakudanga was one of the contestants. Out of 167 votes cast, he received four.

“The Zimura constitution says a legal quorum must reach a quarter of membership. In 2019, the number of members was less than a quarter of Zimura’s membership that stood at above 2 500 members. The attendance at the AGM was around 120. In 2022 attendees were around 117 members.

“Out of the 3 500 members, around 840 members should have attended the AGM to reach a quorum.

The Zimura board must be suspended to carry out investigations,” said Nyakudanga after the elections.

Responding to Nyakudanga a few days after the elections, Zimura, through their executive director Polisile Ncube-Chimhini, said it was shocking that Nyakudanga was raising such issues after having lost the election.

“The person who has brought about that rumour is failing to read the constitution.

The same constitution he is quoting from says ‘if there is no quorum after an hour at the AGM, the members present would decide whether they want to go ahead with the meeting or they want to postpone the meeting’.

“There is also another clause that says after 30 minutes, if there is still no quorum, the members present would constitute a quorum which means once they constitute a quorum, therefore the meeting is constituted properly.

Besides that, the clause he is referring to was amended at the 2019 AGM and minutes at the AGM indicated that the new quorum is 100,” said Ncube-Chimhini at the time.

She went on to quiz why Nyakudanga participated in an “illegal” election.

“He participated in the elections so is he saying he was participating in illegal elections?

Had he won, was he going to be saying what he is saying now?

If one participated in an illegal process if the process was even illegal, how can he come later when he has lost when he had already bound himself to the process and is one of the members who agreed and counted to the quorum that was there,” she said.

In response to Ncube-Chimhini’s response, Nyakudanga issued a statement urging Zimura members to put the Zimura Council to task.

“It must be correctly put on record that Polisile Chimhini has no legal right to respond to this matter.

Zimura is a membership-driven association headed by the Council chairperson.

For Polisile to speak ahead of elected directors is a sign of stubbornness.

“No one has dared to check the running of Zimura business.

Fred is urging Zimura members to put the Zimura Council to task.

The association is not safe under such unscrupulous officials,” wrote Nyakudanga.

He went on to urge the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Recreation to intervene the way they did to Zifa.

“Zimura is a membership-driven association.

It’s not a private company that must be known.

Fred is lobbying for the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Recreation to seriously consider appointing an interim council pending a fresh AGM and elections.”

Nyakudanga challenged Chimhini-Ncube to justify her position saying her “primary school defence techniques must stop forthwith.”

“Polisile Chimhini is not the Association’s executive director.

There is no such post in Zimura.

Polisile must justify her position and who employed her as Zimura’s executive director, members should know.

Members are not aware and have never agreed to this.

Polisile has proved she is the one at the helm of a spate of constitutional infringements,” he said.

In response to Ncube-Chimhini’s suggestion that his complaints could be a case of sour grapes, Nyakudanga said: “Very soon the Pandora’s box is opening and Fred is waiting to see who will attract the attention of the police.

Since when has, losing in an election become a crime? Fred has not fought the elections at all.

After all, the results are in the public domain already, the last member to be elected into the board polled 8.

“If this is a case of sour grapes, was the December 3, 2019, AGM properly constituted? Fred is exercising his constitutional right.

Whether he participated or not in elections is irrelevant to the matter before Zimura.”

He went on to say: “Zimura or Polisile has chosen to demean Fred’s character at the expense of a very serious matter it is facing.

The 3rd December 2019 AGM where Zimura/Polisile has chosen to be mum whether it was illegal or not, is the exact AGM Fred is citing as illegally held.

Polisile Chimhini, in her own words, accepted that a quarter of the entire membership quorum existed.

She went on to allude that it was amended on the 3rd of December 2019 avoiding stating that an illegal quorum presided over the amendment.”

Sharing the quorum, Nyakudanga said: “The illegal amendment clause reads as follows:

Clause 18 of the Articles of Association;No business shall be transacted at any General Meeting unless a quorum of members is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business.

Save as herein otherwise provided, one-quarter of the full members present in person shall be a quorum.

“19 Adjournment for lack of quorum; If within half an hour after the time appointed meeting, a quorum is not present, the meeting if convened upon the requisition of members shall be dissolved, in any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week at the same time and place or to such other day and to such other time and to such other place as the Council may determine, and if the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within half an hour after the time appointed for the meeting, the full members present shall be a quorum.

“This suffice to say the 3rd December 2019 meeting should have been attended by 633 members who represent one-quarter of the Association’s 3 165 full members at the time of the AGM sitting.

Only 210 members attended meaning the meeting should have been adjourned to another date.

So the 3rd December 2019 business is null and void.”