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ZIFA president P Chiyangwa’s statement followed concerns raised by former ZIFA Disciplinary Committee chairman Andrew Musengezi, who questioned the committee that sanctioned the individuals in the Limpopogate saga given his committee did not conclude the case. In a letter written to FIFA development officer for Eastern and Southern Africa Ashford Mamelodi on September 16, Musengezi alleged that former Warriors’ assistant coach Nation Dube was slapped with a five-year ban even though the proceedings before his committee, which was later disbanded, had not been concluded.

Musengezi also said they had only done preparatory work for Dube’s case and the cases of his co-accused, former ZIFA chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya and former ZIFA board member Edzai Kasinauyo.

“On April 25, 2016, the committee sat to hear the matter and evidence was heard from two witnesses and the matter was postponed for further evidence. The committee was not reconvened to hear further evidence and no reasons were advanced from the ZIFA offices why that was so,” reads part of the letter.

“The next thing we gathered in respect of these cases was a report in the local Press that judgments had been pronounced on these persons by the new committee. “ It is pertinent to note that the Nation Dube case was not finalised by the Disciplinary Committee.

“The Disciplinary Committee is not aware what procedure was employed to make the decisions on these cases pending before it.” Last night, Chiyangwa said the sanctions were aboveboard.

“It is in the public interest for me to enlighten on the correct position on the penalties imposed on a number of football practitioners by ZIFA through the ZIFA Congress in light of the completely groundless allegations made by one Andrew Musengezi,” he said in a statement.

“Firstly, it must be understood that Andrew Musengezi was improperly appointed as chairperson of the ZIFA Disciplinary Committee by the previous ZIFA Executive Committee in flagrant contravention of Article 55 (1) of the ZIFA constitution, which strictly requires the chairman of the Disciplinary Committee to be legally qualified.

“It is common cause that Andrew Musengezi is not a lawyer and does not have a law degree. His appointment was therefore null and void ab initio. “Any decisions and proceedings that were done under his chairmanship are obviously a legal nullity at law. This is a clear position of the law.

“Musengezi has over the years masqueraded as being properly qualified and has created a serious legal catastrophe for ZIFA in presenting himself as such. “ZIFA is taking serious action to deal with the misrepresentations by Andrew Musengezi, which is why the Disciplinary Committee he was chairing was disbanded notwithstanding some of the committee members are distinguished legal professionals.

“Unfortunately, the work of the whole committee had to be set aside owing to the non-qualification of Musengezi as chairman. “As a clear manifestation of the brazen ignorance on elementary legal provisions of the ZIFA constitution, Musengezi has wrongly alleged that is the function of the ZIFA Disciplinary Committee to ban errant members of ZIFA from football activities. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“It is only the ZIFA Congress which may dismiss a person in terms of Article 36 (1). The decision must carry a two thirds majority in terms of Article 36 (4). Pending confirmation of the dismissal of a person by Congress, the ZIFA Executive Committee has the power to provisionally dismiss a person.”

Chiyangwa said ZIFA stood by its decisions. “The people who were dismissed from ZIFA by the ZIFA Congress on the 4th of June 2016 were properly dismissed by the unanimous decision of all members present in strict accordance with Article 36 (1).

“Match-fixing is a serious offence in football and ZIFA Congress does not tolerate, in any manner whatsoever, corruption in football,” the statement said. “The contention by Andrew Musengezi is therefore utterly nonsensical as it parades serious ignorance on the elementary elements of the ZIFA statutes.

“It is clear that Andrew Musengezi is a bitter man but he has nobody to blame, if he wants to be appointed as the ZIFA Disciplinary Committee chairman he must first go to law school and obtain a law degree.”