Nonkonyana launches court bid to halt Safa elections
CHIEF Mwelo Nonkonyana yesterday filed a motion to interdict the Safa elections from being held on March 24.
In a week characterised by plot twists with regards to the upcoming elective congress of the country’s football mother body, at which incumbent Danny Jordaan hopes to cling to power by being voted in for a second term, there continues to be a cloud of doubt on whether the elections will go ahead as scheduled.
Nonkonyana had threatened to see to it that Safa would be prevented from carrying on with what he and presidential candidate Ace Ncobo have called a flawed process and one that has gone against Safa as well as Fifa statutes by bringing forward the date of the elections among several other alleged “gross violations”.
The elections were originally set for September this year until NEC members moved to change this at their extraordinary congress in December.
“As one of the leaders for change in South African football, I have taken a step to launch an urgent application in the South Gauteng High court today, pending the finalisation of my dispute at the same court and also (since) we don’t have auditors and we don’t have an independent electoral commission,” Nonkonyana said yesterday.
Nonkonyana had been determined to challenge Jordaan for the presidency himself, but was told by Safa that he was ineligible because he was not part of any of the association’s structures.
“The entire process has been riddled with gross irregularities and manipulation by current Safa president Dr Danny Jordaan and his lackeys, hence I want this entire process to start from the beginning so we can all be part and parcel of electing a credible leadership that can take South African football to new and greater heights.”
Nonkonyana was removed from his role as Safa deputy president and national executive member in 2014 for allegedly speaking out of turn, prescribing mandates to then Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund in the media.
He has been fighting for his way back ever since – launching another bid earlier this year ahead of the Safa elections next week.
Former Bafana captain Lucas Radebe, ex-national team coach Shakes Mashaba and businessman Tokyo Sexwale were also prohibited from running for the presidential post by the same Safa electoral code.
But Ace Ncobo emerged as a candidate late last month, rather unexpectedly as he received a single nomination (on the record at least, because he has claimed that he signed more than just one acceptance form) from the Amathole region in the Eastern Cape.
Jordaan on the other hand, according to audit firm KPMG received 52 nominations.
Ncobo has joined forces with Nonkonyana to try and oust Jordaan from the hot seat, and he achieved a small victory last Friday when the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) withdrew from assisting Safa with overseeing the elections.