By SHAMAOMA MUSONDA –
THE Sports Council of Zambia (SCZ) has threatened more sanctions on the suspended Zambia Volleyball Association (ZAVA) executive committee for challenging the legality of the legal and disciplinary committee’s decision to hand them a five-year ban.
SCZ chairperson, Mwamba Kalenga said in a Press statement yesterday that his board would review the reaction from the Gabriel Muyinda-led ZAVA executive and then take further action.
In a short and precise two-paragraphed statement, Kalenga expressed shock and disappointment with the reaction of Muyinda, whom he referred to as former ZAVA president.
He described the ZAVA reaction as an expression of insolence and lack of respect for authority.
“This is unacceptable and the council reserves the right to review their Press statement and take action. I am extremely disappointed and shocked by the reaction of the former Zambia Volleyball Association president Mr Muyinda and his executive over their ban which clearly demonstrates insolence, indiscipline and lack of respect to the appointing authority by calling the entire board as incompetent,” Kalenga said of Muyinda and his suspended team.
The last few days have been filled with drama in the sporting circles, starting with SCZ summoning five associations to a disciplinary hearing at the National Sports development Centre (NASDEC) in Lusaka.
Of the five, the Zambia Amateur Athletics Association (ZAAA) and ZAVA saw the executives dissolved with the volleyball body coming off worst as the entire committee was handed a five-year ban from all sporting activities.
The SCZ sat again after 12 hours to cancel the dissolution of the ZAAA executive on Sunday but stood by the ban handed out to ZAVA for bouncing a cheque.
Reacting to their suspension, the ZAVA officials challenged the legality of the decision to ban them for five years.
They wondered how a decision could be arrived at without hearing the executive’s side of the story and further questioned the powers of the SCZ legal and disciplinary sub-committee to slap the ban.
The suspended ZAVA executive argued that the sub-committee had no powers to mete out such punishment on them.
But what seemed to stir the hornet’s nest
was the terminology of incompetence of the sub-committee after the alleged failure to follow the laid down procedure.
The SCZ disciplinary committee also censured the Zambia Amateur Boxing Federation for paying affiliation fees late and the Zambia Pool Union for not informing the council that its member was involved in criminal activities.
The Zambia Basketball Association saw its vice-president south, Conrad Musonda banned for three months for writing to the council when he should not have.
However, all the affected parties have complained that they have not received official communication from SCZ.
The Emmanuel Katebe-led SCZ disciplinary and legal sub-committee also disaffiliated the Zambia Weightlifting Federation, the Cycling Association of Zambia and the Baseball and Softball Association of Zambia for failing to pay annual subscription fees.
Other members of the legal and disciplinary sub-committee are former Football Association of Zambia president, Michael Chiti, Ndola lawyer John Kabuka, Milfred Muke, Bibiyaka Keans and Timothy Shekele.
