BY Itai Dzamara Â
HARARE – The drama, intrigue and politicking within local football administration is likely to attract censure, or even serious condemnation, from FIFA.
Further to the drama around controversial ZIFA chief executive officer, Henrietta Rushwaya, The Zimbabwean can also exclusively reveal that FIFA are deducting funds from the local association in unclear circumstances.
Rushwaya, a lady who has made a lot of headlines, was reported by the state-controlled Herald newspaper of last Saturday as having been arrested and having appeared in court on corruption allegations involving US$2,300 but this paper has established that she never appeared in court.
Our investigations have revealed that Rushwaya, who had been away with the national soccer team on a tour of Vietnam, visited the police and was questioned before being released.
In unclear circumstances, she was granted bail of $10 million by the magistrates’ court, but without going there, and is remanded to the 23rd of this month.
“I was never arrested,” she told this paper. “I went to the police after hearing that they had questioned my subordinates and were reportedly looking for me, and clarified one or two issues they were interested in. My lawyer obtained bail for me.”
The case at hand involves US$2,300. Another football administrator, Kennedy Ndebele, who is the Premier Soccer League secretary general, is the complainant, according to police dockets seen by this paper.
Rushwaya is accused of having converted ZIFA funds to personal use. But it has also emerged that the money is reported to have been found in the safe at ZIFA, in the custody of the association’s accountant.
It is all politics, involving a government minister fighting the current ZIFA leadership, particularly Rushwaya and the chairman (Wellington Nyatanga),” a highly-placed source said.
“A new CEO had already been put on standby in the hope that Rushwaya wouldn’t
emerge out of this.”
That drama aside, this paper is in possession of a copy of the letter recently written by world governing body FIFA, to ZIFA. The local soccer body was recently granted a US$250,000 grant but has received only US$143,000, a copy of which transaction we have.
But a letter from FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke on the 6th of this month states: “At its last meeting held in Zurich on 28 October 2007, the FIFA Finance Committee made the following decision: Deduction of US$11,790 from FAP 2007 for unsubstantiated documents according to the KPMG report.”
It is believed that the deducted funds date back to the previous ZIFA administration of Rafiq Khan. The drama continues to unfold.
Post published in: Zimbabwe Sports News