Zimpapers Logo

ERIC MATINENGA

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
THERE was no immediate relief for Saidi Sangula in his bid to thwart the staging of the zifa elections with the ZPC Kariba official’s urgent High Court application yesterday being deferred again to Monday, this time after lawyers representing him requested for a postponement.
Sangula is challenging the electoral process that has seen zifa hold elections for the respective affiliate bodies, which will culminate in the polls for the national board for which he claims he wants to stand.

The former Northern Region chairman, represented by Mawere and Sibanda legal practitioners, first came before High Court judge Justice Francis Bere on Wednesday but his application was deferred to yesterday.

Although there had been expectations that a determination on the urgency of the matter would be made yesterday, the case was once again deferred after Harare lawyer Eric Matinenga, who is now acting for Sangula on instructions from Mawere and Sibanda, requested for more time to study the opposing papers that have been filed by zifa.

zifa and the Sport and Recreation Commission are cited as the first and second respondents in the matter.

Another Harare lawyer Lewis Uriri is representing the association in the case in which zifa want Sangula’s application thrown out on the basis that it has “some technical flaws and has been brought before the wrong court’’.

It is zifa’s contention that:
“The High Court has no jurisdiction to hear this case because the association’s constitution is very clear that when there is a dispute one must go to the Electoral appeals committee and applicant has not followed that route from the start when he approached the Sport and Recreation Commission’’.

zifa set up an Electoral appeals committee chaired by lawyer Tawanda Chitapi, which is tasked with hearing all appeals within 96 hours of a protest being lodged.

It is also the soccer mother body’s contention that Sangula is in violation of the game’s statutes by dragging his case to the court while they also argue that a technicality is presented on the basis that the applicant is challenging an election for which he has not confirmed his candidature.

“He claims to be a candidate but he has not presented proof that he wants to contest and for what position.

“Article 60 of the Zifa constitution prohibits taking football matters to the court and by so doing applicant is in violation of clauses of the same constitution which he claims to uphold’’.

In opposing Sangula’s application, Zifa also queried why the former Kambuzuma United chairman had not cited the electoral committee among his respondents with the association suggesting he should have cited the body that has been tasked with running the polls — the electoral committee.

Sangula contends that if the relief he seeks is not granted he would suffer irreparable damage in his bid to become a zifa board member while the national administration of the game would be thrown into turmoil.

“In the premises applicant is seeking an order interdicting the holding of any polls for zifa under the current electoral committee pending rectification of the composition of the same.

“Applicant harbours a fear that if respondents are not interdicted, irreparable harm would result from the holding of a flawed process as the national administration of football would be thrown into turmoil by subsequent nullification of elections, which could simply be avoided by stopping the process in its tracks,’’ Sangula said.

Among his reasons for urgency, Sangula also argued in the application that on the balance of convenience he stood to suffer more harm than zifa if the court does not grant him the relief that he seeks.

“If the order is not granted, I will suffer irredeemable harm as already stated above. The inconvenience of entering a flawed and skewed poll is all too obvious as the result cannot be trusted anyway.

“On the other hand the respondents cannot be prejudiced by an order which simply ensures that the status quo is maintained until this Honourable court decides on the summons matter referred to.

“I aver that this Honourable court should lean in favour of protecting applicant’s interest as clearly established herein as the balance of convenience lies squarely in favour of the relief that applicant seeks,’’ Sangula said.

With hearing on Sangula’s case further deferred, zifa’s nomination court is now expected to proceed with the vetting and certification of the candidates who have submitted their names for places on the board.

The spotlight will today fall on the race for the zifa presidency, which will be contested for by the quartet of incumbent Cuthbert Dube and challengers, Leslie Gwindi, Nigel Munyati and Trevor Carelse-Juul.