Mkhangelwa ready to challenge claims of appointment being unlawful

Re-elected Safa Nelson Mandela Bay president Simphiwe Mkhangelwa is ready to tackle any claims that his appointment was unlawful.

Some Safa NMB Local Football Association (LFA) members have threatened to go the legal route in dispute of the election process.

Mkhangelwa, who will hold office for a second term, was voted in at the Safa NMB congress on Sunday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Clive Killian, Mlandeli Mambara and Busisiwe Skokwe were appointed as vicepresidents.

However, the congress did not take place without some turmoil.

The event, scheduled to take place at 10am, was delayed by non-accredited Safa LFA members who also wanted to be part of the election process.

Heading them was Sabelo Nkuhlu, who was standing for the president’s position.

There was a heavy police presence at the stadium and they later formed a human barricade to prevent non-accredited Safa members from gaining access to the congress.

The congress finally got under way at about 3pm.

Nkuhlu, of the Kwazakhele Football Association, said Mkhangelwa’s appointment was unlawful.

“They will never serve us through chaotic means or through a back door; they must follow the constitution,” Nkuhlu said.

“We have also approached lawyers to look at this issue, to interdict and to look for a review.”

Mkhangelwa said SA was a democratic country, so if Nkuhlu felt there was something unusual with the election process or how the congress was conducted, he was within his right to go the legal route, as long as he had his facts correct.

“The fact that some people are saying that they are going to take legal action (in dispute of my appointment), we are living in SA which is free and democratic.

“Everyone has the right to explore whatever avenues if he thinks there were things that were done.

“He can go to the highest court as long as you are going to put facts; what is key and important is the facts if the congress was not conducted correctly.

“If there is such a thing, someone must go and prove it in a court of law.

“Even before the congress the same people said they were going to interdict the congress so that it could not start, but that did not happen.

“We are still waiting now for them to take us to court, we are going to match them there.

“We know that there is nothing wrong that we have done up until now.

“We cannot allow anarchy and violence in football — if people are not happy they must do things the way they know how to resolve issues or disputes, and not resort to violence.

“There were people there who are not REC members, people who were taken from the location to come and disrupt there,” Mkhangelwa said.

“Is this the way we should run our football?”

The former Motherwell Footfall Association (Mofa) president thanked all those LFA members who supported his second term.

“Like I said before, I had unfinished business that I still have to deal with and make sure that I improve the development of football within the region.

“Also to continue with the issue of women empowerment and the empowerment of young leaders.

“We also have to deal with improving the financial assistance so that along the way we can get some financial muscle from the private sector as the region, so that we can assist the LFAs,” he said.