SUSPENDED BGU OFFICIALS DEMAND ANSWERS Secretary General, Brand & Communications Manager sidelined
Two members of the Botswana Golf Union (BGU) Executive Committee have accused the union of unfair treatment after being suspended indefinitely since January.
BGU Secretary General (SG), Tumelo Selikane, and Brand and Communications Manager, Neo Aabobe, were suspended a few weeks after the formation of the committee following an elective Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2019 December.
Now, six months later, golf - a sporting code whose players are known to go about their business quietly away from the prying eyes of the media - is reported to be dealing with an administrative blunder that threatens to expose the committee’s shortcomings.
In an interview with this publication this week, a dejected Selikane - who has served BGU for the past 11 years and was recently reelected as the Union’s SG - said he’s still to come to terms with the way things have turned out since his reelection. Selikane said he joined the Executive Committee as an ordinary member in 2009 and was appointed SG six years later in 2015.
“I did my job diligently, which explains why I was reelected back into my position at the 2019 AGM in December,” he said.
However, in January, just a few weeks after his re-election, Selikane was slapped with a suspension letter pending investigations over possible financial irregularities.
The embattled SG told Voice Sport that the reasons for his suspension, as advanced by BGU, came as a total surprise to him since he has never been involved with the finances of the Union.
“This was a shock for me, honestly, because I have never in my life been involved with the finances, and when I sought an explanation, none was forthcoming,” he said.
He further told Voice Sport that he has sent a series of letters to the Executive Committee demanding an apology or at least a formal charge so he knows his offence.
“Their response was to invite me for a meeting which I turned down. The only meeting I’d attend is the one that’d allow me to execute my duties as BGU Secretary General,” charged Selikane.
Voice Sport also reached out to Aabobe, who was appointed to the position in 2018, but has since been sidelined by the Executive Committee.
“I was appointed to that position as it is not an elective one, however, the problem arose when I travelled outside the country for two weeks. I had notified them about the two-week commitment, but despite this, I was given a cold shoulder upon my return,” claimed Aabobe.
The aggrieved Aabobe said when the new committee began duty, all seemed to be well but soon the committee members’ attitude towards her changed.
“No one, to this day, has explained to me why I’m being given this silent treatment,” she said.
BGU Vice President Administrative, Modiri Phuthego, confirmed to Voice Sport they indeed have suspended their Secretary General pending investigation on suspected misappropriation of funds. “Yes, we have one member of our committee on suspension, and I want to clarify that he has not been sidelined, rather suspended for the points noted on the letter issued to him,” said Phuthego.
“However, this is a very sensitive matter which is still under investigation, and we will share the full details after concluding it,” he said.
“We made an effort to meet with him and discuss this matter but so far we’ve been unsuccessful. However, we are going to do whatever we can to meet with him, to conclude this matter,” he said.
He, however, did not want to be drawn into the matter of the Brands & Communications Manager position, save to say the position is still unoccupied at the moment.
“We’re still looking at various individuals who can be roped in,” he said.