As the year comes to a close, we reflect on some of the issues that attracted our interests the last 12 months. We can’t help but roll back the clock to last month when Nchanga Rangers were demoted by the Disciplinary Committee following a botched deal to bribe a referee with a paltry K800.
The decision may have pacified a prospective conflict point in the Zambian game but there would be no denying that the episode exposed a very ugly side of our game.
If there is anything that football lovers in the country should be grateful about is the fact that there is a dark side to our game in which Nchanga Rangers were caught pants down. There is no denying in the face of evidence that Nchanga Rangers were able to brazenly engage in such levels of corruption because the conditions in the game allow it. No one can claim that it was the first time that the team was engaging in such naked corruption.
It is a fact that Shadreck Chalenga, a member of the Nchanga Rangers Supporters Association, contacted a referee identified as Roderick and plainly offered him a bribe to influence the outcome of the match between his club and Nkwazi.
Chalenga named names of people in the Nchanga Rangers set up who were in on the deal to help the Chingola outfit survive relegation.
The people named in the clandestine operation were team manager Patrick Nkhata, executive committee members Matyola Haanyama and Nedson Mugala.
At the disciplinary hearing the recording was given due attention and Nchanga Rangers were duly found guilty with a recommendation for demotion put through.
Only the club chairperson and secretary appeared before the Disciplinary Committee with the other people [in this case the officials of interest named in the recording] conspicuously shunning the hearing although some alabi of some sought however unconvincing was offered. Nonetheless, it was established that indeed the trio were very much part of Rangers.
Following deliberations of that meeting, Rangers were demoted and the officials mentioned in the syndicate were banned for life. While a life ban on officials could have been too harsh a punishment, there should be no argument Rangers deserved to go back to the lower ranks for bringing the game into disrepute.
Curiously the Appeals Committee led by Judge Martin Musaluke overlooked the recorded conversation on account that the official that eventually handled the match did not include the bribery incident in his report. But how could the official have known that he had been a last minute replacement because of a bribe scandal? Really? There are by far better grounds Judge Musaluke could have used to save the Rangers soul.
Was not the recording the basis of the entire bribe scandal? It may have eased some tension with those holding the view that maybe Nchanga Rangers were a victim of a witch hunt. But in truth the Appeals Committee squandered an opportunity to send a strong message in the game for a cancer many in the game know exists but shy away from confronting.
Who better to deal with the problem than a senior member at the bar? But Judge Musaluke has lost football an opportunity to heal the cancer of corruption. He lacked the b***s of the Italian football federation in dealing with football’s well known scandal known as the Calciopoli.
European giants Juventus was stripped of the Scuddetto they had crookedly won and demoted to Serie B before finding their way back to the top the clean way. Justice is supposed to be blind and be devoid of sentimentality or sloganeering in the mold of likulu itimu (meaning it is a big team therefore cannot easily be touched). Why then do we need men of high standing in football if their credentials will amount to nothing?
Reading the decision Judge Musaluke sends shivers in the spine of a layman at law. It actually gives credence to the perception Zambia’s judicial system is rotten and may sure have broken down irretrievably. The fella did not even bother to address the grounds Rangers raised in their appeal which could at least hold. But to claim that the referee, who was not approached and therefore not a subject of the bribe, is beyond shocking. To think this is a travesty of football justice is an understatement. What Judge Musaluke did to save Rangers is an insult to the Zambian football fraternity. What protection do poor souls like Roderick have in our football?
Let’s face it. Zambians were recently celebrating Kapiri Mposhi referee Jan Sikazwe’s ascendance to the global stage when he was tasked to official a FIFA Club World Cup involving Real Madrid. How many more Sikazwes will Zambia produce if they fall prey to such manouvers by Rangers and can’t be protected by disgruntled elements like judge Musaluke. It’s surprising that Judge Musaluke spent over 15 years building his reputation only wanting to destroy it in a 15 minutes decision.
In view of the overwhelming evidence against Rangers, it’s important that the FAZ executive and indeed the FAZ council reviews this decision. Allowing Judge Musaluke’s useless decision to hold as precedence in Zambia football may create serious problems for the country’s most loved sport. If anything Judge Musaluke must resign from the FAZ Appeals Committee for failing football. And in the worst case scenario, he should also be relieved of his position at the Industrial Relations Court.
The post Opinion: Judge Musaluke Is A Disgrace; Rangers Bribery Scandal Is The Worst Judicial Decision appeared first on Zambia Reports.