Some Botswana Premier League (BPL) board members have expressed some misgivings over the appointment of the League Management Committee (LMC). Contrary to the norm, where the BPL Board appoints its own structures, this time around it was the Botswana Football Association (BFA) Emergency Committee (EC), together with the BPL Board leadership which appointed the League Management Committee.
The BFA EC, which is made of the trio of BFA President Maclean Letshwiti and his two Vice Presidents, Segolame Ramotlhwa and Pelotshweu Motlogelwa, has appointed Booker Bannister, Fidelis Lekhao and Victor Sebolao.
The appointment of the League Management Committee is said to have been at the heart of a three-hour long meeting of the BPL Board on Friday afternoon. According to a source, knowing that the three names would be put forward by PRO Rapula Okaile faction of the BPL Board, the other faction of BPL Board who are against his regime came with their own nominees to counter them.
“The other members of the committee were hoping that the names would be put forth for voting as is the norm. They were hoping that if it came to the ballot, their nominees would emerge victorious against the selected trio of Bannister, Lekhao and Sebolao.
They were, however, surprised when Okaile informed them that the BFA EC had already appointed the committee. All they had to do was endorse the committee and this did not go down well with some of them,” the source said.
The announcement is said to have then prompted a three-hour debate in the house as some believed the process was not constitutional. Reached for comment, BFA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kitso Kemoeng confirmed that the appointment of the committee was done by the BFA EC. “The committee was appointed almost a week ago by the BFA EC and the BPL Board leadership. As we have announced earlier, the BFA has taken it over itself to oversee the running of the BPL, including the forensic audit. This is done to ensure stability at the BPL,” Kemoeng explained. He said the involvement of the BFA in the appointment of the League Management Committee was part of the new regime’s remedies for the ongoing challenges faced by the BPL. Meanwhile, another BPL Chairman says though the appointment of the League Management Committee by the BFA was unlawful, the BPL Board had tried to right the wrong by endorsing the names. He, however, said even if the names had been put forth for nomination, they would have been voted in, something which is refuted by the anti-Okaile board members. According to insiders, the latest wrangle is part of the narrative of the ongoing power struggle in the BPL Board. While the Okaile-led faction had the numbers and were in control prior to the BFA Annual General Assembly (AGA), sources say they have now lost control as they don’t most of the support they enjoyed before. The source said had today’s League Management Committee’s appointment been done through the ballot, the anti-Okaile faction would have won.
