Safa hits back at Mokoena
The South African Football Association (Safa) has asked its National Executive Committee (NEC) to vote on a “precautionary suspension” of vice-president Gay Mokoena, as the fight between Safa president Danny Jordaan and his former interim CEO continues to intensify.
In a letter to the NEC, and signed off by Safa’s General Manager of Legal; Compliance and Membership affairs, Advocate Tebogo Motlanthe, Jordaan has refuted all allegations levelled against him by Mokoena in the “Mokoena Report”, a document leaked to the media, a leak that has clearly infuriated the Safa president.
Mokoena’s term as interim CEO of Safa has ended, which is about the only fact he and Jordaan appear to agree on, but he remains a vice-president at Safa for the time being.
The Safa letter, which has been seen by says: “We have received communications from a number of NEC members to the effect that Mr Mokoena should be placed on precautionary suspension until such time as the matter is fully investigated and reported to the NEC.
“The (Mokoena) report has the effect of bringing the NEC and Safa into disrepute with calls for the immediate suspension of the entire NEC.”
Below this, NEC members were asked to vote by close of business yesterday on whether “Mr Mokoena be placed on temporary suspension”, “that matters be referred to a Senior Counsel or retired judge to investigate the alleged breaches, and “that the Fifa ethics committee be requested to investigate the alleged breaches.”
“The Mokoena Report”, also seen by The Citizen, accuses Jordaan of flouting the consitution with regard to Mokoena’s “dismissal” as interim CEO on 15 April.
Mokoena claims that Jordaan went against the constitution by not consulting the NEC over his sacking, and that Safa are also going against their own constitution by not having an active CEO.
Safa, however, insist that Mokoena’s role as acting CEO simply ended when his contract expired on 31 March.
The Safa letter argues that Mokoena contradicts himself in his report by saying he resigned, he was dismissed, and “there was a sudden exit”.
“This clearly is a falsehood ... and must be treated with the contempt it deserves,” says the letter.
“Safa is not in possession of a letter of resignation and it does not exist and cannot be produced,” it adds, while also refuting several other allegations made by Mokoena, including that of Safa needing to have another acting CEO at the helm.
The letter insists that Chief Financial Officer, Mr Grobie Hluyo, is the only member of staff during lockdown who continues to provide what has been classified as “an essential service”.