By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
THE Lusaka High Court has ordered for the replacement of Phil Kubombela as the secretary general of the Zambia Amateur Athletics Association (ZAAA) with Yona Mwale as a defendant.
This is a case in which Samuel Matete and four others are challenging the association from disqualifying them from standing for elections.
Judge Chalwe Mchenga allowed the replacement of Kubombela after ZAAA interim committee vice-president Christopher Manda asked the court to replace Kubombela with Mwale.
This was after the annual general meeting (AGM) held on December 27, 2014 in Lusaka which elected Mwale as the new secretary general of the ZAAA interim committee.
Manda stated in his affidavit in support of summons for alternation of a party that Kubombela was no longer the secretary general of ZAAA following the election of Mwale.
Manda told the court that on December 27, 2014 ZAAA held its AGM where an interim executive was elected and was given the mandate to organise another AGM by March 2015 at which office bearers will be elected on a four year term of office.
He said that the interim executive was put in place because the other executive led by Elias Mpondela term of office expired on December 4, 2014.
Meanwhile, Kubombela opposed the candidatures of Samuel Matete and four others to contest the elections saying they were rejected owing to the defective and lack of nominations from the fully paid up and affiliated ZAAA clubs or area boards.
Kubombela, who filed his affidavit in opposition to the interim injunction being sought by Matete, Manda, Jonathan Chipalo, Judith Chaongopa and Carol Mokola before he was replaced by Mwale, said that the taskforce was formed ahead of the ZAAA elections to scrutinise nominations in respect of the elective AGM.
He said the task force submitted a report which gave reasons for rejection of the five nominations.
Kubombela said that the purported nomination of Matete was not on a formal nomination form and came after the Nkana Amateur Athletes Club had already duly nominated Mpondela for the position of president and that his nomination was not seconded by any ZAAA affiliated club.
He said that Chipalo was not in good standing with ZAAA and has formed a parallel association called Zambia Athletic Association (ZAA) which association has sued ZAAA while the rest were equally not seconded by any club.
Kubombela said that most clubs which existed in 2002 are no longer in existence while new clubs that have been formed were not fully paid up, affiliated to and very active in ZAAA activities.
He said that since 2002, ZAAA has held elective AGM in 2006 and 2010 using updated list of delegates which vary from the 2002 list which the court has ordered the association to use.
Both parties advanced their arguments to the court defending their positions when the matter came up for inter parte hearing yesterday.
Mr Justice Mchenga has since set January 12, 2015 as a date for ruling whether or not to confirm the injunction which he granted to Matete and others to contest the AGM which was slated for December 27, 2014.
ZAAA, however, postponed the AGM following the court injunction but Matete and the group went ahead to hold the AGM which elected him as the new interim ZAAA president.