It is safe to say things are about to get really messy at Lekidi, the local football headquarters.
The fallout from the controversy laden Botswana Football Association (BFA) electoral board vetting system is getting acrimonious.
On Friday, aspiring BFA presidential hopeful Ookeditse Malesu declared he was ready to take legal recourse to clear his name.
“People are going to answer for what they did. I’m going to sue all who were involved in this mess,” a fuming Malesu said.
For Malesu, this is a war to clear his name which he believes was deliberately dragged in the mud in a bid to bar him from contesting elections.
The former BFA chief executive officer (CEO) was vetted out of contest by the electoral board after it was declared ‘he was under investigations by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC).
“I have worked hard in sport over the past twenty years to build my name. I cannot let people to fabricate stories and destroy my reputation that I have so worked hard to build to,” he said.
Malesu was vetted out after the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) allegedly wrote the BFA electoral board a letter alleging that he is being investigated by DCEC.
The former BFA CEO has since pointed out he is not aware of any investigation against him by the DCEC.
On Friday, Malesu said he had confronted the crime busting agency to understand if he was under investigations and if true, the nature of the investigations.
He however said when he approached the DCEC, even they were not aware of any investigations against him.
Asked to be specific as to whom he intends to sue, he said: “all, the BNSC, BFA and the electoral board. They cannot rely on hearsay trying to gain electoral mileage out of fabricated stuff.”
On when he expects to seek legal recourse, the BFA presidential hopeful said as of now, he is still trying to get as much information as he needs from all those concerned.
He said once he gets all the information and knows all the role players, he will then seek justice.
For the time being, Malesu said his main focus is to appeal his elimination from the BFA presidential race.
He expressed disgust at what he deemed a smear campaign within football politics, something which he said was not good for the sport.
“Our football is losing credible people because of pettiness. Where is the first division north committee as we speak?” he asked rhetorically.
“They are good people but they have been chased. Football cannot progress when serious and committed people’s reputations and livelihoods are being toyed with” observed Malesu.
The BFA president aspirant was preparing his appeal against the decision of the BFA elections committee that vetted him out.
Meanwhile, Malesu said he does not believe the current electoral board is independent from external influence.
He said as things are, he does not see how the BFA electoral board can stage credible elections.
“Some of the things that the BFA elections committee wanted from us are not provided for in the constitution. We were asked to submit things that are not legally required,” he observed.
Given the current events, Malesu said he will ‘canvass for support for the electoral board to be disbanded as it had lost any element of credibility.”
