ZIFA president, Felton Kamambo, yesterday appeared at the
Harare Magistrates’ Court to answer charges of allegedly bribing councillors to
vote for him in the 2018 elections.
He was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate
Richard Ramaboa, who remanded him out of custody to September 14.
His lawyer, Chenaimoyo Gumiro, requested the State to
furnish him with all the necessary documents to help him prepare his defence.
Former ZIFA president, Philip Chiyangwa, the man Kamambo
beat to become the leader of domestic football, is the complainant in the case.
Kamambo won the poll after getting 35 votes with the then
ZIFA boss, Philip Chiyangwa, getting 24.
It is the State case that, ahead of the ZIFA elections,
Kamambo — or those representing his campaign team — allegedly paid the
association’s councillors using the Ecocash payment platform.
It is alleged the money was meant to try and induce the
councillors to vote for him.
The allegations are that Kamambo’s campaign manager, Robert
Matoka, through his Ecocash platform, allegedly transferred various amounts to
the councillors.
These councillors, who vote in the ZIFA elections,
included:
The late Northern Region Division One chairperson Willard
Manyengavana, who received $210
Francis Ntuta $300
Mehluli Thebe $300
Artwell Moyo $250
Artwell Moyo $50
Beaular Msarah $300
Dennis Tshuma $300
Kudakwashe Chisango $500
Kudakwashe Remba $300
Ropafadzo Matemavi $200.
Other councillors,
Thomas Marambanyika ($300)
Stanley Chapeta ($300)
Pervious Mathe ($300)
Patrick Hill ($80)
Nkosilathi Ncube ($300)
Doubt Ncube ($300)
Pithias Shoko, who got $50, $200, $50, $400 allegedly also
received the hush payments.
One of the ZIFA councillors, accused of receiving the hush
money broke his silence in June and said the funds he received were not a
bribe, but a reimbursement for his expenses.
Hwange-based ZIFA Southern Region member, Mehluli Thebe,
told the Chronicle, he received $300, through the EcoCash platform, from Matoka
two weeks before the elections.
The money, he said, was for him to travel to Bulawayo to
hear Kamambo speak about why he should be voted the next ZIFA boss.
The ZIFA boss is the latest high—profile football
personality who has been making headlines, from the courts, in cases spread
from Harare to the Greek island of Mykonos and from Manchester to the
Paraguayan capital of Asuncion. Herald
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