HARARE - Suspended Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) vice president Nody Kanyangarara is contemplating launching an appeal against the Sports and Recreation Commission’s (SRC) decision.
A fortnight ago, the SRC suspended ZRU president Nyararai Sibanda, his two vice presidents Kanyangara and Tapiwa Mangezi for allegedly failing to follow protocol and maladministration which was hampering the performance of national teams.
Speaking for the first time since the suspension, Kanyangarara said he was mooting an appeal against the decision.
[GoogleAd]
“Obviously, people should be given an opportunity to defend themselves and I think it comes down to individuals on what they intend to do about the suspension,” Kanyangarara told the Daily News yesterday.
“It’s (appeal) something that I have been thinking about but at the moment it’s still too sensitive to talk about it but maybe at the end of the week I should have made up my mind.
“There are things that I need to look at and be sure of. For instance if I am to appeal, should I do that to a higher office than the one that suspended me?
“So I need to look at what the SRC constitution says and be familiar with the statutes that govern them.”
The former Sables team manager said he was hopeful that he will be given an audience as he seeks to get certain issues clarified.
“I have gone through the suspension letter and there are some areas that need to be explained further and I’m just praying that they will give me the opportunity to talk to them,” Kanyangarara said.
“One such area is that when you look at the suspension letter it has no time frame, it only states that you are suspended and then what?
“They have that right and privilege to appoint but what if someone decides to appeal?
“So there are a lot of things that are not clear about the whole thing.
“I think they are approachable and as an individual I’m still 50-50 in terms of what I should do whether to appeal or let sleeping dogs lie.”
In the suspension letter to the ZRU board, SRC acting-director-general Joseph Muchechetere said there was a lot of chaos in local rugby.
“...the executive board has ceased to operate as one unit and as such fissures have been the order of the day due to infighting that has continued to dog ZRU (current) executive board since its inception in 2017,” Muchechetere wrote.
“This had a direct bearing on the performance of the management team led by CEO (recently appointed) and the national teams.
“I also wish to bring to the attention of the public that after the appointment of the board and when we witnessed signs of infighting within the board, both the ministry of Sport and Recreation and SRC intervened in a number of occasions to try and discourage the practice, unfortunately these fell on deaf ears.
“These interventions included a workshop held at Mandel Training Centre in Harare as a deliberate move to capacitate the executive board and its leadership.”
[Adz]