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Henrietta Rushwaya

Tendai Rupapa: Senior Court Reporter

Former national football team assistant coach Nation Dube was yesterday fingered as the central figure in the match fixing allegations that rocked the country recently after evidence presented in court suggested that he was responsible for handling and distributing the money to targeted players to throw away matches.While giving evidence led by the prosecutor, Mr Timothy Makoni, Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa yesterday said the former Hwange coach was the go-between linking the players and the shadowy match fixers to manipulate matches at the CHAN games in Rwanda early this year.

The Warriors finished the tournament winless.

Pasuwa, giving evidence from the information that he got from the Limpopogate whistle-blower, Leeroy Waguta, said there was chaos at one time in the national team camp after Dube failed to hand over the money to the targeted players.

Callisto Pasuwa

“In the messages that were forwarded by Leeroy, it was mentioned that Nation Dube was involved in another CHAN tournament scandal in which there was altercation between the players who had agreed to fix matches and the ‘match fixers’ after they were not given their money which Dube had been sent to deliver,” he said.

“So, in the messages, the alleged match fixers were saying what had happened before should not be repeated in the Swaziland match’s plan. They were saying they should make sure that each player gets his money.”

Pasuwa added that the four people who were mentioned in the messages as the ones behind the match fixing plot were, Ian Gorowa and the three accused persons, former zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya, former zifa board member Edzai Kasinauyo and Dube.

The Warriors coach further explained the roles which each of the accused was going to play in the plot. However, he did not mention the role which Rushwaya played.

Edzai Kasinauyo

“When Leeroy called me informing me of the plan, he ordered me not to tell anyone saying the matter involved people in higher offices,” he said.

The State asked if he had direct information linking the accused persons to the offence and Pasuwa said in relation to Rushwaya he had no evidence.

He however, nailed Kasinauyo whom he said would force him to hold meetings and in those meetings he (Kasinauyo) kept on pestering for the players’ list.

“Accused number 2 (Edzai) pressurised me to release the names before the actual time. Ordinarily, the list of names is given to the chief executive. Surprisingly, Edzai wanted the squad list, but I stood my ground and refused to release it.

“According to the messages, Edzai was also responsible for bribing the referees while Ian Gorowa was assigned to look for Tatenda Mukuruva’s number because, after refusing to release the names, they were then convinced that Mukuruva was going to be the goalkeeper.

IAN “Dibango” Gorowa

“I then informed Mukuruva that he was going to receive a phone call hence he was supposed to tell me what the conversation was all about. He later advised me that indeed the phone call had come through and had been invited to South Africa on the pretext it was for trials,” he said.

Pasuwa told the court that each player was to get $35 000 for the two games.

Former zifa boss Jonathan Mashingaidze also testified and narrated to the court how Pasuwa and Maxwell Takaendesa, the former zifa technical director approached him and notified him of the plan.

Nation Dube

He however, said there was nothing sinister about Kasinauyo asking for the players’ list since he was a board member. He added that he was the one who reported the matter to the police after informing the zifa president.

The magistrate, Ms Lucy Mungwari remanded the matter to October 13 for trial continuation when Mukuruva and Waguta are expected to testify.

Rushwaya, through her lawyer, notified the court of her intentions to apply for exception to the charge on the next court appearance. The trio is represented by Messrs Simon Mupindu, Harrison Nkomo and Simon Simango.