25 Jan 2016

Businessman Jagdish Shah says his involvement with Township Rollers club is not in violation with Justice Leatile Dambe’s August 2015 ruling pertaining to the running of the club’s affairs.

Justice Dambe’s ruling nullified the running of the club’s affairs by Township Holdings, a company which administered Rollers with a shareholding structure consisting Shah and Somerset Gobuiwang owning 40 per cent each as directors leaving Township Rollers society with 20 per cent.

The ruling stated that Rollers club should be run by executive committee of the society “to the exclusion of any other person or entity.” 

On Thursday afternoon, a group of Rollers members, including the court applicants and some supporters’ branch chairmen told a press conference that while Gobuiwang has respected the ruling, Shah continues to run the club, the action they said is in contempt of court ruling.

In an interview with BOPA, Shah refuted the allegation that his action is in contempt of court the ruling. “Township Holdings ceased operations immediately after the judgement.  We decided to hand over the affairs of the club to the society.  At the time the interim committee of the society was formed they said they were not yet ready to take over everything,” Shah said.

Shah said he was asked to assist the club in his personal capacity on a temporary basis, and given a contract in writing that up to 28 February 2016, he will be looking after the team.

He said Township Holdings where Gobuiwang and him are still the directors, is no longer running the club, adding that since he is administering the club at the invitation of the interim committee, he could not be said to be in contempt of the court ruling.

At the press conference, one of Rollers’ co founder Allen Compton said the way the club is being administered is in contempt of the court ruling. Present at the press conference was supporter’s branch representatives, committee treasurer, Mfolo Mfolo and three of the court applicants Mookodi Seisa, Ernest Kgaboesele who both sit on the interim committee.

Compton said the society still does not have a bank account and treasurer Mfolo said he was clueless as to where the funds that the club accrues such as membership card fees and premier league grants end up. 

He stated that if it goes to the Township Holdings account then it goes against Justice Dambe’s ruling.

In that regard, Shah said it is not his fault that the society does not have a bank account. He said it is not his failure that the interim committee is failing to open an account.

“Look I cannot block them to open an account, unfortunately what is happening is that, there are some people trying to derail the whole effort of Botswana football, and I have no issues if they want me to go I am ready to go,” he said.

However, in December, lawyers acting for the court applicants served Township Holdings directors Shah and Gobuiwang with letters of demand giving them seven days to hand over the club’s operations to the society’s interim executive committee.

At the press conference, the applicants revealed that Gobuiwang had responded through his attorneys Mitchin and Kelly stating that he had respected the court ruling and had left the running of the club to the society. But they said Shah had continued administering the club.

On the other hand, the Gaborone West supporters’ branch secretary, Kabelo Moremong said the mandate given to the society’s interim committee at the Marang Special General Meeting of October 3, 2015 did not include a loan deal with Shah, and therefore such a deal cannot be construed to constitute a binding contractual relationship between Township Rollers Football Club and Shah.

He said the mandate given to the interim committee required that they regularise the affairs of the society in compliance with the High Court judgement MAHGB-000480/13, and also approach both Gobuiwang and Shah or any other corporate entity to solicit sponsorship for the club and revert to members.

Furthermore, Moremong said the distribution and renewal of membership cards should not take place until the running of the society is regularised, and that anyone who has had dealings with the club is a genuine member even if they have not renewed membership.

He urged the interim committee to open the society’s bank account and control the club’s revenue stream, saying it will not be proper to conduct elections at the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for January 30 until such regularisation is completed. Ends