Allegations of fraud, vote-buying and forgery continue to dog the much-anticipated SA Football Association elective congress, taking place in Midrand on Saturday.
As Safa president Danny Jordaan faces his challenger, AmaZulu owner Sandile Zungu, the Sowetan has been informed of fresh claims of attempts to influence some of the 300-plus delegates who will cast their ballots.
“Just this week, there was an official [allegedly] caught red-handed with R100,000 in cash which was supposed to influence one region,” a Safa NEC official claimed, requesting anonymity because a police case was being filed.
There were also claims of forged signatures emanating from a regional congress at the Sarah Baartman region in the Northern Cape, and belated attempts to change the delegation from the Amajuba region in KwaZulu-Natal.
“All that failed and the delegates are coming to congress,” the official said.
But the biggest controversy, which could come to the fore when the NEC meets on Friday ahead of Saturday’s poll, has centred around Safa chief executive Lydia Monyepao allegedly distributing a pack containing amended statutes which had not been agreed to.
Monyepao, it has emerged, has since apologised to the Safa regions for what she called a genuine error, but that did not stop NEC member Lebogang Riet from laying a criminal complaint against her.
“The CEO [Monyepao] lied again, trying to correct her initial mistake,” Riet said of an article which was sent to membership last week, which stated incumbent Jordaan could be nominated by any region instead of his home branch, as per the known statutes.
“There was no statute which she quoted from, that’s why she couldn’t tell us where she took that extract from ... there’s no Safa statute like that,” Riet said yesterday.
“They have already used this statute to eliminate people that go on the ballot.
“We are not planning drama, but drama might come from them [Safa’s hierarchy] because we are just here to defend our constitution and make sure things are done according to the constitution.”
Riet said he would not withdraw the case he had opened against Monyepao.
“I am waiting for action from the police and our lawyers have already interacted with them,” Riet, the chairperson of Force For Change, which backs Zungu, said.
But Jordaan, it is believed, has long done groundwork, having campaigned for two years, while Zungu’s train only started rolling this year.
In spite of that, Riet echoed the AmaZulu owner’s belief that their faction would win.
“We are positive that our man will emerge.
“We’ve worked very hard to mobilise people who will vote for him,” he said.
Zungu expressed reservations this week about attempts to buy delegates, though he did not provide specific evidence.
“Notwithstanding all this, we will win convincingly.”
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