THE Lusaka High Court has ordered the Zambia Amateur Athletics Association (ZAAA) to allow former World 400m hurdles champion Samuel Matete and four others to contest the elections during the annual general meeting on Saturday.
Judge Chalwe Mchenga restrained ZAAA general secretary Phil Kubombela from disqualifying, barring, blocking, stopping Matete, Christopher Manda, Jonathan Chipalo, Judith Chaongopa and Carol Mokola from contesting any position at the ZAAA annual general meeting (AGM) to be held on Saturday or any other date.
Mr Justice Mchenga further ordered that delegates should come from the clubs and area boards allocated ZAAA numbers by the general secretary on December 31, 2002 including Young Carol Mokola club in accordance with the clubs and areas board’s list of 2014 membership until after the determination of the matter or delivery of its judgement and or any further order of the court.
He said when he granted the interim injunction to the five that he will hear the inter parte on December 31, 2014
Matete and four others had sued ZAAA general secretary Phil Kubombela seeking an injunction to restrain the association from disqualifying them from standing for positions of President and vice president.
He had asked the Lusaka High Court to order that the reasons given by Kubombela for disqualifying them are illegal and ultra vires to the ZAAA constitution.
The four wanted the court to order Kubombela to pay costs for the court proceedings and well as any other relief the court may deem fit.
Matete stated in a writ of summons filed on behalf of others in the principal registry that he and three others were candidates for the election of president of ZAAA while the fifth is a candidate for the election of vice president.
He said that the term of office expired on December 4, 2014 but the current leadership has continued to occupy the office illegally.
Matete said that Kubombela, through the press, announced that ZAAA will hold its elective annual general meeting (AGM) on December 27, 2014 even though it should have been through a 30 day notice as per the ZAAA constitution.
He said that in response to the AGM notice, he and three others applied to stand for the positions of president and the fifth vice president.
Matete said that on December 15, 2014 they learnt through the press that they were disqualified from standing making the current President one Elias Mpondela unopposed.
He stated that the reasons advanced for disqualifying the five are not contained in the ZAAA constitution as such the disqualification cannot hold.
Matete said that since the AGM has never made any rules for elections as contained in Article 10.6 of the ZAAA constitution, the practice has been to apply for any position through either a nomination form obtained from ZAA or on a club letter heads or candidates nominated on the floor during the AGM.
He alleged that Mpondela is afraid of losing the presidency because the candidates are highly experienced athletes.
Matete said that ZAAA allocates numbers to affiliate clubs which athletes paste on their chests as they run and the last time ZAAA allocated such numbers to clubs was on December 2002 with the exception of young Carol Mokola club.
He said that the list of December 31, 2002 inclusive of the Young Carol Mokola Club remains the only valid official list of clubs affiliated to ZAA and entitled to take part in the AGM and to vote.
Matete said that if Kubombela was not stopped by way of an injunction from disqualifying them or barring them their constitution rights to stand for positions in ZAAA and meaningfully contribute to its welfare will be highly infringed upon.
He said that the five have suffered loss as a result of Mr Kubombela’s conduct.
Parents are like condoms,they are there to protect us but you know what?
When they are not there,it’s more fun…..Oops what am I saying?Good that Matete will participate!
@Zulu, what the fuuuuck?? Respect your parents, even if you are obsessed to condoms.
Hats off to Matete.. keep fighting, why does Mpondela keep imposing himself when no one in ZAAA wants him..Mpondela is bringing sports down..no one wants that !diot and Kambwili why are you allowing that cretin Mpondela free reign to cause chaos and destroy amateur athletics in Zambia???
ok to be honest lately our courts have been working hard to put candidates in these clubs, its injuction upon injuction
It’s very surprising that despite all Elias has achieved with ZAAA, he would stoop that low to seek to twist processes to keep his opponents from challenging him for the presidency. What the meaning of that? Could they be merit in the calls for the end of his ZAAA presidency? As an experienced financial professional, signs like these which appear in consistent can only mean there is a financial hole which Elias knows will be exposed if someone else takes over.
typical of some people from luapula, northern and muchinga. they simply dont want to be challenged. too much crookedness. allow your friends to participate in the election.
@amoah,
I don’t blame you but your father’s premature ejaculation which led to producing a cretin of a child in you. Ukutumpa swine.
In all fairness our brothers and sisters from ‘Liverpool’ did not ask Mpondela to be a cheat. The man is just selfish and trying to hide the skeletons in his ZAAA closet. How can it be that at every elective AGM Mpondela’s opponents are disqualified? If he is really popular then let him prove it through a competitive contest. We don’t want elections of Mpondela Vs The Frog like it was in the UNIP era.
Excuse me sorry to differ,what has Mpondela achieved as ZAAA presido? you call company relay as great achievement.
Zambian courts are the busiest in the world! Who is bearing the cost of this court business? Now Mpondela might appeal to the Supreme Court. Pathetic!
The nonsense of people who do not want to be tested. I recall runners like Musonda, George Msimuko from Mukuba Secondary school in late 1980,s. Zambia had good runners. CHi-this Modera only busy with Executive sports.
Mpondela must go!!!!
From my own point of view, the issue is and must not only be about the going of the ZAAA president ,but the seriousness of us in athletics eying for the positions. We must be asking ourselves, which clubs,area boards are we coming from if we can not find answers to these simple questions we are not the right candidates. Have you sponsored any athlete? Let us not just continue bragging about being professional coaches in social medias and yet we do not even do a little for athletics in Zambia. I was like coming from cb and my participation can still be traced out from Kamfinsa AAC to MufuliraAAC and I actively took part in organising the sport in the province unlike other friends they know themselves. Some where even active in organising netball, when we were busy toying for our athletes.
Shame to the National Sports Council who have supported Mpondela to go unchallenged. The organisation has lost credebility and therefore rendered biased towards Mpondela. Did it need the court to intervene?
Well done Chief.
Mpondela, what have you achieved for you to continue as ZAAA President?
Apart from the Inter-Company Relay race, which is not even the core-function of the organisation, can anyone list medals minted under this man’s leadership?
What’s so special about mpondela that he can’t be kicked out. He’s been ZAAA president for ages, why can’t other people lead??? The chap is turning it into a family business!i
The courts have worked to choose candidates bravo courts
Mpondela wamuyayaya like sepp blatter and joe havalange before that. mpondela is always politically correct but one of these days that never ate anything (ubushiku ubushilile kantu) he will realize that the short cut he has taken is a cul-de-sac.
Your literal translation of that Bemba phrase just cracked me up. Oh man you’re crazy. Ha ha ha!
E Mpondela has been at the helm of ZAAA for far too long.
Athletes from Zambia have always attended games merely for tourism purposes than to win medals as preparations for competitions only start a month before unlike in some countries like Kenya where camping and local competitions are all year round.
Let us try another batch of leaders and see what else they can contribute to this sport.
As The Chosen one above has rightly said his main focus is the Inter Company Relay.
With due respect the IAA must ban Mpondela from vying for a position at international level so he too can feel what it is to muzzle competition.
The right thing has been done but this one is not over yet. Mpondela is likely to run to IAAF claiming interference by the Zambian Courts. And if he loses the ZAAA Presidency then he cannot contest for a seat on the IAAF Board like he intends to do next year.
Zambia is no reserve for a few anymore. Zambia is maturing into having the best run for deserving leadership. Zambia is a great country and she is proving so by allowing her sons and daughters let through the freedoms which make a vibrant nation. The fact that citizens are now running to the courts for redress and fair adjudication of justice is reason to be confident in the best procedures and policy on which our nation was founded. We have always believed in best delivery and now our checks and balances have matured like that cheese with a high price and a wide market.
Friends in the great athletics family, no matter how long it takes my story will still remain the same . Iam sure in any sport it be tennis,isolo,draught name it, the main purpose of it all is about players. Athletics the same,we must have athletes or in short we must be sponsored by some club that must be a member of some area board. In ZAAA there is a culture of people emerging in times of elections just for that time to come and contest elections. I always challenge them all, if they are sincere just to show us or tell us the clubs they are coming from and the athletes they sponsor. Very few would be in the position if not none of them. This mentality contributes to the poor performance of the few athletes we have, how can you lead children you don’t even know where they are from.
Matete is a very humble and very intelligent fellow. He started his career by using the most basic of equipment in hurdles made of sticks and wires, which he would gratefully hop over like a grass hopper. The man went to become one of the World’s best in his field rivaling the likes of Ed Moses. I met him in Kenya in the all Africa games squad in 1987 where he didnt do well but persevered until he became world class.
Mpondela must go, he is a dictator and a tribalist. Look at the Board of the Inter company relay, full of his kinsmen like Nkandu Luo. How do you become proud of such a social event, whose participants are spent pot belied executives, other than to benefit from their cash.
Zambia cant boast of a real marathon that can attract the likes of David Rudisha coz of such…
Let athletes run their own affairs. Im sure Mpondela has never stepped on a running track
The problem is Mpondela and his company are afriad of their own shadows. They know what they have been doing all these years. Talk of results this administration that includes Phil Koumbela as SG has been waste of Athletics management in Zambia. There are no results to show on international level. All they are therefore is pocket monies for personal use. Shakespeare once said leave the stage when people are still clapping
I think the Big man Mr Elias has to sit down in his bedroom and try to think just how democratic he has been and answer to this question. Nomination forms on the copperbelt were only availed to few individuals who are purported to be his supporters and leaving out people who should have filled in nominations. Chairmen and Secretaries from Nchanga, Chambishi, Kamfinsa, Mufurila, Roan, Nkana and Luansya were not present that sunday to get the forms. Only Konkola was rightly represented. The constitution was abrogated because clubs never received these forms. they should have been given to clubs so they can sit on their own to nominate FREELY. People surrounding the big man cannot advise, is it poverty? Come on veterans, help us to build Zambia. Stand firm not for the sake of the stomach.