Efforts to axe suspended Botswana Premier League (BPL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bennett Mamelodi hit a snag this week, the Sunday Standard has learnt.
An internal disciplinary hearing by the Botswana Football Association (BFA) failed to be held this past Wednesday after Mamelodi allegedly forwarded a sick leave just prior to the disciplinary hearing. It was revealed that it was tipped to be his last kick at the football mother body.
This comes after High Court Judge Lakvinder Walia ruled that Mamelodi should appear before the disciplinary hearing after being furnished with necessary documents that concerned the case. Sources revealed that Mamelodi had been furnished with all documents and a date was set for March 1 for the DC.
“The BFA abided with the court ruling that they should give Mamelodi the necessary documents before the hearing and did so. He was also furnished with dates of the hearing of which he did not attend due to the sick leave that ended on Friday March 3. The DC hearing has since been suspended and is expected to resume this coming week,” the source said.
However, it turned out that this past week the BFA tried to seek second opinion on the measures of Mamelodi’s sick leave.
The local football association is said to have sought advice on how to handle the sick leave matter on whether there were any chances to continue with the hearing despite his absence.
“It was hectic as the BFA wanted a second opinion with regards to sick leave measures. The dilemma was that some of the DC members believed a hearing could be conducted given a waiver to call upon the concerned to sit in a hearing before being released for rest. It was a tough decision to call but the hearing is bound to resume this coming week,” said a source.
BFA spokesperson Tumo Mpatane remained cagey on the matter saying it was internal and could not be shared with the public. “We are still dealing with the issue internally and nothing much can be disclosed at this point,” said Mpatane.
Asked about rumours about a letter concerning Mamelodi’s exit from the association, Mpatane shied away saying: “These are not matters to be communicated to anybody as I remain content that all internal matters will be communicated accordingly.”
