07 Jun 2016

The Industrial Court will, on August 23, hear a case in which the suspended Botswana Premier League chief executive officer, Bennett Mamelodi, is seeking the court to interdict disciplinary proceedings against him.

An attorney representing Botswana Football Association (BFA), Mpho Gaobakwe, pleaded with the court, on Monday, to grant them time to rectify some of their documents.

Mamelodi’s lawyer, Dutch Leburu, told the court that one of the documents brought before court was misleading.

He said the BFA National Executive Committee (NEC) never met to take a decision that the Botswana Premier League (BPL) board chairperson, Rapula Okaile, should represent the association in court.

He said BFA president, Tebogo Sebego, did not have powers to delegate Okaile, adding that only the NEC had such powers.

He said the document produced before court signed by Sebego claimed that the decision was taken by NEC, yet there was no meeting held to discuss the matter.

Leburu further said, as per Botswana football constitution, the powers to appoint Okaile to represent the association in court lied with the NEC not the president.

“My Lord I submit that the document is void, it is an illegal piece of document and Sebego as the head of the association is said to be the defender of the constitution, but his conduct does not demonstrate him to be a defender of the constitution,” he said.  

Therefore, in her reaction, Gaobakwe told the court that they would like to withdraw the document in question, put their house in  order and come back to court after regularising their issues.

The case was before Justice Diratsagae Molomo. ENDS