Malawi football in bribery disrepute: ACB stops South’s FA elections

The image of football in the country has been thrown into disrepute after Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has issued a stop order to Southern Region Football Association (SRFA) and Football Association of Malawi (FAM) from proceeding with the elections scheduled for Mangochi at weekend  following allegations of bribes in the nomination process.

ACB Director Reyneck Matemba has confirmed  that the graft-busting body’s move  follows complaints from some affiliates in the nomination process.

SRFA chairperson Raphael Humba is  set to go unopposed during the body’s elections.

But some  officials have lodged a complaint  on how the nomination process was handled – albert corruptily.

The graft-busting body is also investigating officials in the Central Region Football Association (CRFA) where it has stopped its elections scheduled for November 14 .

The issues at hand seem to be similar.

CRFA incumbent vice-chairperson Simeon Lijenje and vice-general secretary Owen Munthali lodged a complaint to FAM on how the nomination process was fraudulently handled.

In the CRFA, all the nine district committees nominated incumbent chairperson Austin Ajawa to retain the hot seat unopposed along with general secretary Bernard Chiwiriwiri Harawa, vice-general secretary Antonio  Manda, and vice-treasurer Missi Bwanali.

Ajawa’s potential challenger former FAM first-vice president James Mwenda, who lost FAM presidential elections to Walter Nyamilandu last December, did not receive a nomination.

Soccer analyst David Kanyenda said ACB’s probe into FAM and its affiliates will likely raise the attention of Fifa’s Ethics and Integrity committee.

Kanyenda, who is also a private practice lawyer, said FAM’s failure to address electoral disputes which have dogged its affiliates was the genesis of the problems the association finds itself in.

He said: “FAM, the body responsible for running local football, has been dogged by a spate of accusations regarding corrupt practices particularly during the conduct of elections. The ACB restriction notice comes as no real surprise to domestic football followers given the rising frequency of complaints pertaining to alleged electoral irregularities.”

Kanyenda observed that the mother body’s procrastination in the matter is a result of the power struggle over control of the regional associations.

“At the heart of the matter is in fact, a bitter power struggle to influence the composition of the affiliate bodies that in turn, constitute an electoral college for the FAM Executive Committee,” he said.

Each region contributes six delegates to the FAM AGM and combined, form half of the 36 electors.