By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE –
THE Sports Council of Zambia (SCZ) has backed the Zambia Rugby Union (ZRU) decision to block members who are not in good standing from contesting at the pending extraordinary meeting.
Confusion engulfed the ZRU nominations after the secretariat rejected nomination papers of Mubanga Chanda who wanted to challenge incumbent general secretary Francis Chitambo.
Chanda’s nomination papers were rejected on the basis that the Natural Resources Development College (NRDC) club, who seconded his candidature, are not in good standing with the union while Zambia Women Rugby Association (ZRWA) had flaws in signatures.
But Chanda vowed that he will continue campaigning and contest the elections to be held at the Green Eagles Rugby Club at a date to be announced later.
However, SCZ acting general secretary Innocent Chalabesa on Friday endorsed the ZRU’s decision, saying all members needed to abide by the rules.
“It is important for everyone aspiring to contest for any position in any association to abide by the rules, so if Chanda did not meet the requirements of the ZRU, then the invalidation of his nomination was in order,” Chalabesa said.
Chanda said in an interview yesterday that he was going to appeal to the SCZ against the decision of barring him from contesting the elections.
“The SCZ issued a statement based on one side of the story and I need to be heard, so I will appeal to the council against the invalidation of my nomination. We cannot have a situation where some people do not want to be challenged. I will use the legal means if need be so that their decision is reversed,” Chanda said.
Chanda said there was need for the ZRU accounts to be audited before the council meeting.
“There is need for the union to account for the money they have been receiving from the International Rugby Board (IRB) towards the development of youth rugby, those are things we need to know before the meeting takes place,” he said.