BFL chairmanship brawl reaches High Court
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday December 23, 2023 06:00
The two officials were removed from the board by some shareholders after a special general meeting held in Palapye last weekend. The meeting installed Godfrey Ratlhaga (Masitaoka chairman) as the new chairperson, while Tumelo Toteng, TAFIC chairman, replaced Shah on the board.
Reported tensions within the BFL, accumulating over time, drove the decision. One of the reported reasons for the fallout was the decision to relegate four Premier League teams at the end of the current season. Some clubs reportedly opposed this decision, while the BFL leadership maintained that the Premier League should consist of 12 teams, as agreed. In their initial attempt to remove the two leaders, the shareholders faced a setback as the planned meeting was deemed illegal.
Zakhem and Shah have now approached the High Court, challenging the constitutionality of the meeting and its resolutions. During the meeting, shareholders also resolved that the process of relegating and promoting teams would remain the same, with the bottom three Premier League sides moving to the lower division. Before the urgent application, the Botswana Football Association (BFA) on Wednesday acknowledged Zakhem as the BFL chairperson through an invitation to the BFA and BFL end-of-year cocktail dinner held last evening (Thursday).
Responding to inquiries about why the association still recognised Zakhem as the chairperson, CEO Mfolo Mfolo directed questions to the BFL. Ratlhaga, speaking to MmegiSport on Wednesday before news of the urgent application, described the relationship between Zakhem and BFA president Maclean Letshwiti as a 'problem' for local football. Ratlhaga anticipated resistance from Gaborone United (GU) boss Zakhem but asserted that the BFL would not achieve full autonomy under his leadership.
'I have seen the latest communication from BFA. It is a kind of invite by the BFA, obviously recognising Mr Zac as the BFL chairperson. This is one of the reasons why the shareholders have found it fit to take control of their company. You know the relationship between the BFL chairperson and the BFA president is our biggest problem. We have not been autonomous because those two gentlemen clearly show they make decisions about football between themselves, not necessarily the structures of football,' Ratlhaga said.
'It is a problem that we have, and it is a problem we will deal with. We have been well aware, even when we began this exercise, we were aware of what was going to happen. This is not surprising, but the nation can be rest assured it is a problem we know, anticipated, and we will sort it out,' Ratlhaga told MmegiSport this week. He further emphasised that the 13 members' decision was made within the legal bounds of the entity. 'This is a constitutional right of a constitutionally set-up company within the laws of Botswana and this constitution.
The shareholders, and I can speak for the board now, have voiced their minds clearly about what they want happening with their company.' 'It is only in the best interest of Mr Zakhem to do the right thing. Otherwise, if he continues to act ignorant of what the shareholders and the board of the BFL demand, he will compromise himself, and unfortunately, it will end up compromising the club he represents. And we do not want that. We are within our legal and constitutional rights, and we will exercise whichever way we find possible.
It is a problem we anticipated, and we never thought for once it was going to be a smooth transition. We have long accepted that and will deal with it,' he said. Earlier this year, it was announced at the BFL annual general meeting that Zakhem would vacate his position and an independent board chairperson would take over from the 2024-2025 season onwards. Zakhem has refrained from commenting on the matter, citing its current legal status.