German architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is credited with the phrase, ‘the devil is in the detail or the fine print’. The proverb is largely used to urge caution on the need to pay particular attention to details. As the Botswana Football Association (BFA) prepares for its usual dose of a controversy-riddled poll, the election juggernaut could be stopped in its tracks by changes in the fine print. The supreme law of local football has come under the microscope amid claims the document was fraudulently altered. The Registrar of Societies has asked the BFA to ‘show cause’ why the association’s constitution should not be declared null and void. Last week, the office wrote to the BFA CEO, Mfolo Mfolo, requesting the mother body to demonstrate that changes to certain clauses were not a result of nefarious activities.
Mfolo, responding to MmegiSport inquiries last week, indicated that they were in receipt of the letter from the Registrar of Societies and they will respond in due course. The clauses that were reportedly tampered with, without the express approval of BFA delegates, relate to, amongst others, the association president’s term limits. According to the Registrar of Societies, which keeps records of registered societies’ constitutions, the alterations took place on December 10, 2019, and June 25, 2021. This means it has been three years at most, with the BFA submitting its returns and getting the document approved without detection of any anomaly. In 2021, Notwane Football Club, through its then president, Tebogo Sebego, raised a query with the BFA CEO regarding the amendments. Then, Notwane reminded the BFA that the duty of amending the constitution, as per Article 33.1, lies with the General Assembly. “We recently received a constitution dated 25th June 2021 stamped by the Registrar of Societies. The said constitution carries a number of changes that were never discussed and voted upon at the BFA General Assembly,” the Notwane letter reads.
One of the contested clauses is Article 22.1, which removed the 16 voting delegates from the Premier League and eight from the First Division. The Notwane query argued that while the Botswana Football League autonomy had been agreed to, it was never approved that the 24 voting powers be taken away. “The amendment is therefore unlawful for lack of authority from the General Assembly. It has a huge impact on the landscape of the structure of the General Assembly,” Notwane argued then. Article 33.4, which talks to presidential term limits was also altered, according to the letter. The presidential limit was set at three terms, which the letter points out, was not an amendment agreed at the General Assembly. The clause that took away the General Assembly’s powers to determine the number of teams in the Premier League and placed them in the hands of the BFA National Executive Committee was also challenged. Notwane then said the changes were illegal and should be reversed. The Registrar of Societies and the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) were copied. “The 2021 constitution was, in our understanding, approved by the Registrar of Societies based on the minutes and resolutions of the BFA General Assembly. The minutes and/or resolutions will be fraudulent if they do exist because the General Assembly never discussed or voted on these changes."
The ball is now in BFA’s court to prove the constitution was lawfully amended as the cat has already been set amongst the pigeons. But contrary to reports, both the old and the altered constitutions, do not bar incumbent, Maclean Letshwiti from running for the presidency. The age limit is 75years while the documents are no explicit on the term limits. It is the CAF constitution that stipulates that presidential candidates should not be older than 70years while the term limit is three.
