Jordaan on the way out?

The Hawks’ raid of Safa House on Friday may finally see president Danny Jordaan forced out of the organisation, says a report in yesterday’s City Press.

A Hawks statement said it had conducted a raid of Safa House, home of the South African Football Association.

“The allegations are that, between 2014 and 2018, the president of Safa used the organisation’s resources for his personal gain, including hiring a private security company for his personal protection and a public relations company, without authorisation from the Safa board,” read the statement.

“The president is also reported to have violated Safa statutes thus prejudicing Safa an actual loss of R1.3 million. During the search, a laptop, external hard drives, a USB and documents were seized.”

Safa denied the allegations in a statement of its own later on Friday.

Former Safa NEC member Willy Mooka told the newspaper: “It is up to those who are there now to decide if he should still lead them when he is facing these serious charges. But I would say he [Jordaan] should step aside because you can’t have someone with a cloud hanging over his head leading an organisation such as Safa.”

According to City Press, the laptop seized was that of Safa chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo, while the Hawks could not get into Jordaan’s office because it was locked.

“What they got should be enough [evidence] to nail him as the CFO [Hluyo] was working under his instructions. The key issues are related to a communication company [he hired] to defend him during the rape allegations.

“He also hired personal security for his own safety at Safa’s costs. And what’s worse, he signed some of these deals, which made him conflicted,” said a source.

Jordaan was accused of rape in 2017 by former ANC MP Jennifer Ferguson. Even in the midst of these allegations, he did not step down as Safa president.

City Press says that the Hawks may add to Jordaan’s charge sheet, over an alleged R70 million paid for the Fun Valley Resort and Entertainment centre, and a charge over the handling of the 2010 Fifa World Cup legacy trust.

“The fact that a judge could sign the search warrant means he/she believes there’s a prima facie case for him to answer. I think the next [step] is for him to be charged officially,” said the source.