The suspended Botswana Premier League (BPL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bennett Mamelodi is expected to resume work shortly. According to information reaching this publication Mamelodi’s looming return comes after the Botswana Football Association National Executive Committee (BFA NEC) failed to give the premier league authority to resolve the conflict with its CEO through the courts of law.
Last month Dutch Leburu of Monthe Marumo law firm, acting on behalf of Mamelodi ffought and won an urgent application that sought the court to set aside the affidavits of both the BFA President and the interim Premier league chairman as they were not properly acquired.
Passing judgment, Judge Tiki Molomo of the Industrial Court ruled that the affidavits from premier league chairman and the BFA president had not been sanctioned by their respective boards.
Judge Molomo ordered that both the BFA President and the interim BPL Chairman should go and seek a proper mandate from their boards to give interim BPL Chairman Rapula Okaile the power of attorney to represent the association at court in a matter in which Mamelodi had approached the courts challenging the legality of his suspension.
However, according to close sources, the NEC, during its recent meeting, took a resolution to stop the matter from progressing.
“The matter is not progressing because the NEC did not take a resolution to progress with the matter,” said the source.
The source said the BFA president, who had wanted his NEC members to give the premier league authority to progress with the matter hit a snag as NEC colleagues did not approve it. Mamelodi was suspended in absentia in March 26 for alleged maladministration at the premier league office. Some of the premier league teams were aggrieved by nonpayment of monthly grants, something that stirred conflict with the CEO. Mamelodi was suspended along his personal assistant, Mogolo Sekgwa. The latter has however not yet been officially charged for any wrong doing.
Since the suspension of Mamelodi the CEO’s office has been locked and BFA CEO, Kitso Kemoeng was appointed on the interim basis to man the premier league office. Currently the BFA has deployed one of its staff members, Marco Maje to be in charge of the office.
Reached for comment, interim Botswana Premier League (BPL) Chairman Rapula Okaile refused to comment. Asked what could have led to the BFA NEC refusing to grant him the permission to represent the association in court, the interim BPL Chairman said he does not know. “Nyaa rra, ga ke itse,” (loosely translated, ‘no sir, I do not know’).
