Last week Friday began with news that prominent referee, Joshua Bondo and three other officials, Mogomotsi Morakile, Kitso Sibanda, and Tshepo Gobagoba had been slapped with a suspension by CAF owing to inaccurate reporting.
Bondo, who was the centre referee during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Benin and Rwanda, was handed a six-month ban, while his compatriots, Morakile, Sibanda, and Gobagoba got a three-month suspension. Benin protested that the officials failed to capture that a Rwandese defender was ineligible for the tie after he was booked in the first leg tie.
The officials have also been suspended indefinitely by the Botswana Football Association (BFA). Fresh from the CAF ban, Bondo was back in the news this time, featuring in a damaging audio featuring the BFA general manager-football operation, Monnakgotla Mojaki. In the audio, which could have far-reaching ramifications for the local game, the main discussion centres around match-fixing.
The BFA has since instituted an investigation into the matter with the Minister of Youth, Sport, Gender and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare urging the mother body to get to the bottom of the matter. In the audio, Gaborone United director, Nicholas Zakhem is passively mentioned as the ‘purchaser’ of referees to influence the outcome of matches.
The match in question in the audio was the top-of-the-table clash between GU and Jwaneng Galaxy recently. GU won the match 2-0. Zakhem has come under the spotlight following the leaked audio, but he told Mmegi Sport he is baffled why he is featured in the conversation. “I’ve no clue whatsoever why my name was brought in and it was in (the) very dubious ugly attack by Ref Bondo, talking about how much he hates me without even saying why, although we have no communication whatsoever since we met in Cameroon in February 2022 during AFCON competition (sic).
Perhaps he is taking his frustration and trying to divert attention from his wrongdoing after learning about his suspension from football duties,” Zakhem said on Wednesday. He urged the authorities to investigate the issue and root out the “evil”. There have been calls that Zakhem, who serves as the Botswana Football League chairperson, be suspended while investigations are ongoing. “Hopefully the current administration will uproot this maladministration. Football is moving forward and in a positive way, the rules of law will reach these culprits soon,” he said.
The incident will test BFA president, Maclean Letshwiti’s resolve as he is expected to take decisive action. Letshwiti was in Harare, Zimbabwe this week where he was part of a delegation to assist that country to comply with FIFA regulations. Zimbabwe was suspended from football activities after its government was deemed to have interfered in football matters.
Letshwiti refused to comment on the leaked audio when contacted. While football was still reeling from the leaked audio shock, the 2027 AFCON bid was dealt a hammer blow on Wednesday when Botswana’s joint bid partner, Namibia announced its withdrawal. It effectively meant curtains on a year-old project that has died without actually taking off, capping a difficult week for football.
