Some disgruntled members of the Botswana Football Association (BFA) National Executive Committee (NEC) have written to FIFA and the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) seeking ‘urgent intervention’ in the BFA crisis. The letter, dated the 22nd June raises the red flag about the goings on at the BFA.
In the eleven point letter signed by the association’s two Vice Presidents, the members blame the mess at the BFA on the breakdown of their working relationship with the incumbent BFA President Tebogo Sebego.
The letter, which has been leaked to Sunday Standard, alleges that, ‘the majority of the BFA NEC members have decided to write to FIFA to inform them about the anomalies besieging the game of football in Botswana. “Key to the report is our working relationship with the President which has broken down to a point where the operations of the association is polarised to the detriment of the growth of football in the country,” reads extracts from the letter. A source told Sunday Standard that the letters to both the BNSC and FIFA are accompanied by ‘documented evidence,’ including minutes, resolutions and correspondences between the NEC and the BFA President.’ In the letter, the disgruntled members accuse Sebego of, among others, ‘unorthodox and unethical behaviour’ in the campaign for BFA Presidency. “The President has engaged himself in an unethical campaign trail where he buys votes from BFA eligible delegates who are going to vote at this year’s Annual General Assembly (AGA). He books them hotels and uses BFA game tickets to woo them. This conduct is against FIFA’s and BFA’s electoral codes of conduct,” so reads part of the three page letter. The disgruntled members go on to allege that the BFA President is deliberately ‘contaminating the electoral process,’ alleging that he is refusing ‘to call a meeting to enable the NEC to appoint the Electoral Board’ to oversee this year’s electoral process. They allege that in the process, the association’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has assumed the responsibility of the Electoral Board, undermining “the credibility of the elections.’
“A large majority of the NEC Members felt the process was already flawed and are of the view that this may be deliberate action on the part of the President, hence the need to inform FIFA of this gross anomaly.” The disgruntled members further accused Sebego of using the constitution to stop NEC Meetings, unilaterally sanctioning contracts without the involvement of the NEC, meddling in the affairs of BFA sub committees as well as misrepresenting the BFA NEC. Reached for comment, Sebego said he could not comment as the said letters had not been availed to him. He said despite numerous attempts to get hold of the letters, the NEC members alleged to have written it constantly refused to show it to him. The incumbent BFA President dismissed the accusations as ‘just a smear campaign.’ “If the alleged writers of the letter were genuine, they would have been open about it and informed me about it. They have however decided to do it behind my back and I cannot therefore take their accusations seriously,” the BFA President said.
