FAZ aspiring presidential candidates have written the association general secretary and also copied FIFA demanding that the electoral process shrouded in controversy after incumbent Andrew Kamanga was declared winner unopposed be nullified citing various irregularities.
The candidates that include Lusaka lawyer and Muza FC owner Keith Mweemba, former FAZ general secretary Adrian Kashala, former FAZ vice-president Emmanuel Munaile, Lusaka-based financial expert Mumbo Lombe, former FAZ GS Machacha Shepande and journalist Godfrey Chikumbi have outlined their arguments in a letter which has also been copied to FIFA & CAF.
READ THE LETTER
25″ February, 2025
The General Secretary
Football Association of Zambia (FAZ)
P.O Box 34751
Alick Nkhata Road
Football House
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA.
Dear Sir,
RE: NULLIFICATION OF ALL NOMINATIONS AND THE ENTIRE FAZ ELECTORAL
PROCESS: JOINT POSITION BY SOME OF THE DISQUALIFIED CANDIDATES
The above subject refers.
We the undersigned candidates whose nominations were disqualified by the FAZ Electoral Committee wish to state that the whole electoral process is flawed and must thus be nullified forthwith.
The FAZ 2025 Election Guidelines or Road Map, in part, provides as follows:
III. An official nomination form, duly completed and signed by the Member’s Presidents/
Chairman and Secretary, of the proposing Member Club or Member Association shall be
sent to the General Secretary. On receipt of the nomination form, the General Secretary shall
acknowledge receipt and submit it to the relevant Judicial bodies in line with the constitution for other procedures.
IV: The Governance and Review Committee shall conduct eligibility checks in respect of
candidates and incumbent members of the FAZ EXCO, Regional EXCO and other judicial
bodies in accordance with the FAZ statutes.
(Article 33 (2) of the FAZ Constitution).
In view of the foregoing, we wish to make it abundantly clear at the very outset that it is the
Member Clubs or Member Associations and not their officials that nominate candidates.
Therefore, it is illegal and unconstitutional when the Electoral Committee Chairperson Ronald
Somale Hatoongo mentions of “registered officials” for the 2024/2025 season when the law does not provide for such requirement. We therefore do hereby declare and state that the whole electoral process is a nullity and must be cancelled for the following reasons:
The decision being challenged is said have been made by the Legal Committee, To start with,
there is no legal provision that has been cited to support such an illegal decision and indeed
to demonstrate that there exists a Legal Committee vested with such jurisdiction in the FAZ Constitution and other FAZ statutes. Which Legal Committee is this that sat to pass such an illegal and irrational decision without quoting any relevant legal provision that is alleged to have been breached or not complied with? A meticulous perusal of Articles 40, 41 (sic), 56, and many other provisions dealing with “committees” in the FAZ Constitution shows tha such a Committee does not exist. This position is the same in other FAZ statutes including the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Electoral Code, 2020. Be that as it may, the Electoral Committee had a mandatory duty to quote the law to buttress its decision vis-a-vis the so-called Legal Committee to enable the affected parties address their appeals and other
legitimate concerns accordingly.
The decision being challenged is so outrageous or absurd that no reasonable person could
have arrived at it in the circumstances of this case. The decision maker lamentably failed to
weigh relevant factors properly and indeed made a decision that defies logic. For instance,
how can it be said that the officials that nominated candidates were not registered and yet the nominating entities are supposed, by law, to be registered Member Clubs or Member:
Associations who are represented by designated officials? The decision of the Electoral Committee is not anchored on any legal provision requiring the registration of the officials in the 2024/2025 season. Previously, registration cards were issued to players and officials who were always given hard copies but this system is apparently being abandoned secretly effective this season without consultation with the Council and other major stakeholders. Who controls the FAZ Connect System between those nominating and FAZ? The answer is that it is the latter that controls the system in issue. To this end, it is unreasonable for FAZ to wake up and claim that the officials are not registered in the FAZ. Connect System and yet FAZ received payments from Member Clubs and their respective officials and issued receipts to
that effect.
Further and for purposes of the forthcoming FAZ elections, why is there reference to the
registration of the 2024/2025 season and yet what is of relevant consideration should be the
2023/2024 season as provided for in the FAZ. Constitution and/or FAZ statutes? There was
no constitutionalised prior notice period agreed at the last Annual General Meeting (AGM)
and Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) as a “cut off point” given for the registration of
the officials; the normal practice is to consider the valid registrations for the previous season
as opposed to the current season. Besides, the registration process for officials is a continuous
process which is still open at present and so it was a grave misdirection on the part of the
decision maker to make such an illegal and irrational decision while making reference to the
2024/2025 season. It remains to add that at whatever time an official is registered, the
registration is valid for the whole season. It should also be noted that the electoral college for the upcoming elections will be drawn from the 2023/2024 season and so it defies logic to talk about registration of the current 2024/2025 season which should ordinarily still be open for registration anyway.
The FAZ Connect System is ‘corrupt and lacks internal safeguards to avoid being manipulated, and the current Andrew Ndanga Kamanga Administration keeps tempering with it willy-nilly to suit the exigencies of the moment. This can be easily proved. Who controls that system? You can’t blame Member Clubs or their officials for any failure to register them, can you? One does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand that Member Clubs and not
officials are the ones that must nominate candidates as already stated in The FAZ 2025
Election Guidelines or Road Map stated above.
The FAZ Connect System needs to be
investigated by the relevant authorities as it is clearly the cause of this grave injustice and
controversy. It must be noted that tempering with the cyber or computer system of any
organisation including FAZ is a criminal offence under the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes
Act No. 2 of 2021 and the Penal Code Act Cap. 87 of the Laws of Zambia respectively.
The decision maker lamentably failed to follow the applicable and proper procedures before
making a decision to disqualify or invalidate the candidatures to various positions.
Article 8.3 of the FAZ Electoral Code 2020 Edition provides:
Within two days of the deadline for submission of the candidatures, the Electoral Committee shall inform in writing those candidates who have failed to provide all the relevant documents in support of their candidatures and grant them another three days to complete their applications. If the relevant candidates fail to complete their applications within the prescribed deadline, their candidatures shall be declared invalid.
This provision is categorically and unequivocally clear and instructive. Further, it is a provision
which is mandatory and the Electoral Committee has no discretion and power to ignore it. Thus, the disqualifications or invalidations in issue were not only illegal and irrational but also procedurally improper as they failed to adhere to the principles of natural justice.
The Electoral Committee has exhibited scandalous biasness by favouring one candidate who is the incumbent in the name of Andrew Ndanga Kamanga, and yet the law provides that the Electoral Committee must be impartial and act with utmost good faith. Article 3.7 of the
Electoral Code states that “The members of the Electoral Committee and of the Electoral
Appeal Committee shall act in good faith at all times and observe the utmost impartiality
when carrying out their duties. “
In view of this clear mandatory statutory provision, the question that begs an answer is: Which law did the Electoral Committee invoke to declare Mr. Andrew Ndanga Kamanga as duly
elected FAZ President for the period 2025 to 2029? This is a terrible scandal which is not only
illegal, irrational, procedurally improper but also unconstitutional in the extreme. Whenever
a statute contains a provision for appealing the decision disqualifying a candidate, the
candidate who has not been disqualified cannot be declared as duly elected as this would
defeat the whole purpose or rationale of the appeal process or procedure. The Electoral
Committee has acted in a mala fide manner and has shown open biasness and partiality in
handling this nomination process. The Chairman of this Committee has clothed and vested
himself with jurisdiction which he does not possess. He has no power to usurp the jurisdiction of the supreme and legislative authority of FAZ which is the Council at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
There is no doubt whatsoever that this whole electoral process has been marred by third party interference and undue influence from a person who does not qualify to be part of the same.
We have got incontrovertible evidence that the players in the electoral process are, were and
have been working with Mr. Simataa Simataa who was irregularly employed in the Zambian
Premier League (PL). Mr. Simataa, whose appointment in ZPL still remains illegal, is not
only a close friend and relative of Mr. Andrew Ndanga Kamanga but was also Mr. Kamanga’s
campaign manager in the 2016 FAZ elections. The two have known each other since 1985.
This fact came from the horse’s mouth, Mr. Simataa himself, and evidence is readily available to that effect.
Further, Mr. Simataa was the proprietor of Mtendere Football Club in which Mr. Kamanga
was registered as an official thereby making this conflict of interest even worse. So, what is
this gentleman doing in the electoral process other than playing the role of rigging elections
by influencing decisions and interfering in the electoral process? Jurisprudence shows that
rigging an election can occur before, during and after an election as it is possible to achieve
this in the whole electoral process when those who control the system do not respeet the
democratic process thereby prejudicing other contestants. We have a case of open bias here.
Article 2.3 of the Electoral Code states that “any undue influence from third parties in the
electoral process shall not be permitted”. Thus, this whole nomination process must be
nullified and declared null and void ab initio, and indeed invalid following the breach of the
said Article 2.3 of the Electoral Code.
Mr. Simataa has committed various atrocities for which he must be made accountable and is
so biased against all the candidates other than Andrew Ndanga Kamanga. We outrightly reject
him and his presence and conduct is inimical to the interests of this electoral process and
democracy at large. Mr. Simataa has no right whatsoever to be part and parcel of this electoral process and he should have declared interest and must now be immediately expelled and the whole nomination process nullified. A close friend and relative of the incumbent cannot be part of this electoral process. This is why the Electoral Committee was in a hurry to wrongly declare Mr. Kamanga unopposed long before the election is even held. The Electoral
Committee did so even when its members know or ought to have known that the other affected
candidates had a right of appeal against its biased decision to the Electoral Appeal Committee.
This is not only scandalous but also embarrassing and a disgrace to the democratic process, to the football fraternity and to FAZ as a whole.
We submit that the Electoral Committee and other Committees have a duty to uphold
democracy and its fundamental principles.
Article 2.1 of the Electoral Code provides for a
democratic process to be observed at all material times. The said Article 2.1 provides:
“General good governance principles, such as the separation of powers, independence,
transparency, and the obligation to avoid situations of conflicts of interest shall be observed without exception throughout the entire electoral process. “
As already adumbrated herein above, it must be emphasised, even at the cost of repetition,
that the Electoral Committee has acted in a mala fide manner and has shown open biasness
and partiality in handling this nomination process. To augment this submission, the following provisions are of relevant consideration:
Article 5 of the FAZ Electoral Code provides:
The Electoral Committee shall be responsible for all tasks relating to the organisation,
running and supervision of the elections to take place during the Council. In particular,
the Electoral Committee shall be responsible for:
a) strictly enforcing the Statutes and regulations of FAZ as well as this Electoral
Code;
b) ensuring that the electoral rules and guidelines of the bodies of FAZ are in line
with the provisions of this Electoral Code and the Statutes of FAZ as well as the Statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA;
c) strictly enforcing the statutory deadlines for elections;
d) providing information to the Members as well as to relevant government authorities (where necessary), the media and the public;
e) where necessary, managing relations with relevant government authorities;
f) the candidature procedure (launch, distribution of information, evaluation,
publication of official list, etc.)
Article 12 of the FAZ Electoral Code provides thus:
“The elective Council shall be convened according to the provisions of the Statutes of
FAZ. The relevant deadlines in relation to the elective Council shall be published in the
press and, where necessary, communicated to the relevant government authorities. “
Article 13 of the FAZ Electoral Code provides for the duties of the elective Council and states:
During the elective Council, the duties of the Electoral Committee shall be as follows:
«) verifying the identity of the voters (delegates);
b) monitoring the electoral procedure during the Council;
c) counting the ballot papers;
d) taking any decisions regarding the validity or invalidity of ballot papers;
e) passing a definitive decision on any matters relating to the electoral procedure during
the electoral Council;
f) declaring the official results;
g) organising and holding a media conference, where necessary.
The Chairman of the Electoral Committee has assumed jurisdiction he does not possess and
usurped the jurisdiction of the Council which is the supreme and legislative authority of FAZ.
The declaration of Andrew Ndanga Kamanga as duly elected without an clection is unconstitutional and must be reversed and nullified forthwith. We must warn at this juncture that committing criminal offences in this whole electoral process is arrestable and prosecutable and those who are doing so will have themselves to blame in due course. No one should be allowed to hide under the umbrella of football and running to FIFA and/or CAF when their conduct is criminal in nature and
offends greater public interest.
The decisions of the Electoral Committee should be declared unconstitutional and null and void because one of its members is an employee of a government body. The Electoral Code is very clear under Article 3.2 on who is ineligible to be a member of the Electoral Committee.
It states that: “The members of the Electoral Committee and of the Electoral Appeal
Committee shall not be members of any other body of FAZ and may not hold any executive
position in any government body.”
It has come to our attention that Mr. Ronald Somale Hatoongo is an employee of the
University of Zambia (UNZA) which is a government body and as such had no jurisdiction to preside over this electoral process.
The Electoral Committee is obliged to follow democracy and its fundamental principles. FAZ,
as a Member Association of FIFA and CAF, is expected to uphold the principles of fairness,
inclusivity, transparency and accountability, which this process has failed to do. Our FAZ
Constitution and FAZ statutes recognise these democratic principles and so no one has a right
to ignore the same. We say no further on this self-explanatory position.
There is an element of bad faith as regards the period the candidates were given to appeal: A period of seven (7) and five (5) days appeal period was granted contrary to the three (3) days provided for in the FAZ. Electoral Code. Article 9.2 thereof states:
Any appeal, duly motivated, shall be sent by recorded post, or delivered in exchange for confirmation of receipt, to the general secretariat within three days of receipt of the decision of the Electoral Committee. Appeals received by the general secretariat shall immediately be forwarded to the members of the Electoral Appeal Committee.
This state of affairs brings to the fore the motive behind the Electoral Committee’s decision to ignore a clear statutory provision as regards the appeal period. This was ostensibly a trap aimed at ambushing the appellants so that they run out of time to appeal within the prescribed statutory period and then dismiss the appeals for being filed out of time. This is proved by the fact that all candidates did not receive their letters of the decision early enough and had to demand for the same by making follow ups with the office of the FAZ General Secretary Mr. Reuben Kamanga who,
according to him, had by lunch time not yet received the same from the Chairman of the Electoral Committee. To make matters worse, the letters disqualifying candidates were lacking in precision and appealable grounds and the candidates were thus entitled to be given further and better particulars.
Given the above, we humbly pray that the whole electoral process must be cancelled and nullified for being non-compliant with the FAZ Constitution and the FAZ statutes.
By copy of this letter, the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) and the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) are hereby informed accordingly.
Dated at Lusaka this 25h day of February, 2025.
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF ALL AFFECTED CANDIDATES:
Cc. The Federation International de Football Association (FIFA)
Ce. The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF)
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