The controversy-ridden Botswana Football Association (BFA) is yet to find lasting peace and its looks like more battles are expected going forward. On Friday, according to information reaching this publication, the BFA National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting took a resolution to suspend the BFA Chief Executive Officer, Kitso Kemoeng.
Kemoeng’s suspension comes against the background of the new regime’s position of restoring peace at the association.
According to our sources, Kemoeng was suspended for negligence of duty among others. “Kemoeng was suspended because the new NEC felt he did not attend to the striking referees and failed to take responsibility. He went to launch the First Division North in Francistown instead of attending to the demands of the referees,” said the source.
It is also alleged that Kemoeng is involved in football politics and is sabotaging the Maclean Letshwiti-led BFA NEC. In the interim the reports suggest that the second BFA Vice President, Pelotshweu Motlogelwa, will act as the CEO.
Football analyst Aupa Mokotedi, when contacted for comment, said: “If it is true it will be clear that Botswana football is a circus.” He added: “If they say he did not attend to the referees what influence did he have because when the money has been paid into the referees account and does not reflect on their accounts it is not his responsibility because he does not have direct charge as to when the banks will credit the money into the individual accounts,” observed Mokotedi.
Mokotedi also did not believe that he is involved in politics. “If they are saying he is involved in football politics that means the regime is a faction and they want to eliminate those they suspect to be not in their faction. Are they saying football is run by factions?
“And if they are to run football like they are doing, there will never be time where football is run well,” observed Kemoeng.
He also observed that: “Kemoeng is a reputable executive who has worked for the Botswana National Sport Council for over two decades; they just want to embarrass him,” charged Mokotedi.
Contacted for comment, Francistown Football Association regional chairperson Maokaneng Bontshetse said: “There is no formal communication from the BFA; we are constrained to comment. We cannot comment on something that is not there. Once the BFA communicate and if the allegations are true we will comment.
Mmegi Sports Editor Mqondisi Dube said: “Although I am not privy to the reasons, it doesn’t come as a surprise. A purge of those aligned to (Tebogo) Sebego (former BFA president) was expected. Probably Letshwiti wants to get a team that he believes will push his vision and people that he can be comfortable around. It was long coming.”
He added: “The CEO is key to pushing operational matters and probably (Mclean) Letshwiti doesn’t have full confidence in Kemoeng and remember the same NEC members who tried to get rid of him under the Sebego administration are still alive under Letshwiti so it might have been a case of ‘we knew we are going to get you’ and has nothing to do with Kemoeng’s performance” Dube observed.
Commenting on the latest development, football administrator Lekgotla Raditloko described it as ‘a circus.’
“He (Kemoeng) is the best administrator in our football. He was building the association and we were now going in the right direction. Our football is not going anywhere with these kind of circuses. There is a lot of witch-hunting in our football and we are tired of this,” he said.
When contacted for comment Kemoeng said: “I don’t know anything about that. We just finished NEC meeting and it went well.”
On Saturday Kemoeng and some NEC members were conducting a workshop for BFA associate members.
