Super League of Malawi (Sulom) president, Innocent Bottoman, has condemned his vice-president Daud Suleman’s attacks on the league’s treasurer Tiyanjane Somba Banda’s role in Saturday’s Football Association of Malawi (Fam) elections.
“I am disappointed. There was no consultation. The vice-president was talking as Suleman and not Sulom. And he did not talk as a leader. If he wanted to serve the interests of other candidates, then that is not how you do it. I involve others before making a decision and that is what goood governance is all about,” the usually reserved Bottoman said on Thursday.
Suleman was quoted by Nation on Sunday, saying it was unfortunate that some Sulom officials were, contrary to Fifa’s statutes, obtained a potentiallydamaging injunction from the High Court in Blantyre stopping the elections.
Suleman made a thin-veiled reference to Somba Banda (first vice-president candidate) after he teamed up with Willy Yabwanya Phiri and Wilkins Mijiga in appealing to Fam Appeals Committee over the elections.
Eventuallyy, the two presidential candidates obtained the injunction.
But, Bottomani added that Somba was not involved in the injunction, and that his earlier appeal was done in his personal capacity.
“I was so shocked by what Suleman said. Tiya is not Sulom, but Sulom treasurer. It was unfortunate for someone to say Sulom shares the blame. It is being immature. We nominated someone [Mijiga] to bring competition and hype to the elections. After all, Mr Walter Nyamilandu had seven nominations,” he explained.
Earlier, Somba described Suleman’s remarks as personal opinion and not those of Sulom, while stressing that he did not obtain the injunction.
“At Sulom, we have no problem with anyone. The nominations were done in good faith and there shouldn’t be any repurcations,” said Somba, who was seen as being aligned to losing presidential candidates, Wilkins Mijiga and Willy Yabwanya Phiri.
Sulom nominated Mijiga, whereas the National Referees Association went for Yabwanya with the rest of the seven affiliates throwing their weight behind eventual winner, Walter Nyamilandu. Suleman was seen as being aligned to Nyamilandu.
Suleman yesterday stood by his remarks that Sulom made “some serious errors.”
“Sulom members were behind candidates that proceeded with the injunction, this is the truth and we can choose to bury our heads in the sand or face the reality that Sulom needs us to look inwards and reorganise our corporate identity and culture,” Suleman said.
“As to whether Mr Somba was an individual during the Fam elections, that is a matter of verbs and adjectives.”
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