D-Day for rugby’s leadership

THE Sports Commission’s move to suspend the Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) executive comes under the spotlight this evening when the association’s board meets in Harare to either ratify or reject the co-option of Russell Karimazondo’s interim committee.

An extraordinary general meeting of the ZRU board, the highest decision-making body in the domestic game, has been specially convened for the union’s boardroom in Alexandra Park this evening to table the suspension of three executive members and subsequent appointment of an interim leadership.

It has also emerged that the Sports Commission only officially wrote letters of appointment to members of the interim committee at the end of last week, nearly a month after the announcement of the move.

The commission, in announcing they had booted out ZRU president Nyararai Sibanda and his two deputies Noddy Kanyangarara and Tapiwa Mangezi’s from office, indicated that they had tasked Karimazondo and his team with reforming the union.

During their tenure the interim committee would also be answerable to the Sports Commission and not the rugby fraternity.

Karimazondo is expected to work with Bongai Zamchiya, Judith Chiyangwa, Tungamirai Mashungu, and former union president Sithembelenkosi Sibanda.

Their appointments were announced following the August 28 dissolution of Nyararai’ Sibanda’s leadership.

However, the situation on the ground at the ZRU paints a different picture amid revelations there were some procedural flaws in the manner the Sports Commission went about appointing the interim committee.

Those procedural flaws are understood to be in violation of the ZRU constitution and it is against this background that this evening’s extraordinary general meeting of the union’s board has been convened.

The ZRU board is made up of the union’s major affiliates which include, Sevens, Women, High schools, primary schools, tertiary institutions, Trust schools, referees as well as Harare, Bulawayo, Manicaland and Midlands provinces.

Union chief executive Blessing Chiutare is also eligible to vote in the EGM.

Former Sables winger Karimazondo yesterday confirmed that despite finally receiving their letters of appointment from the Sports Commission, his committee was still to get down to work.

“Yes, we have now received our letters of appointment but there is an EGM tomorrow where the executive should according to the constitution be ratified by the board.

“There was a misconception that it was the ZRU board which was suspended when in fact it was the executive committee members, who also happened to sit on the board.

“So the ZRU board is still functional and according to the constitution if three or more members are to be co-opted to the board it has to be done through the EGM.

“In as much as the Minister (Makhosini Hlongwane) and the SRC would want us to execute our duties, we cannot do so before those constitutional requirements are fulfilled otherwise this could end up spilling at such bodies like World Rugby.

“We need a ZRU constitution that is lodged with the SRC and which is also ratified by the ZRU board so that we do not end up with conflicting scenarios,’’ Karimazondo said.

Crucially, the move by the ZRU to stick to their constitutional provisions has once again badly exposed the Sports Commission’s failure to have a legal department that would guide them as the supreme sports body in superintending the affiliate associations.

Contrary to the Sports Commission’s assertion that the board had been dissolved and that there was no rugby association to talk about, the dismissals had only been served on the trio of Nyararai Sibanda, Kanyangarara and Mangezi who made the executive.

It is also not the first time that the Sports Commission have struggled to lay a firm grip on associations’ various constitutions and for years they grappled with three different constitutions that had been lodged by ZIFA, while problems related to elections in the handball association during Amon Madzvamujse’s era were also linked to the failure by the supreme body to articulate the statues of their affiliates.